Accidents Don't Just Happen
by dcj
Summary: Cops help people; it's what they do, right? But should she really be helping him?
1. Chapter 1

This is AU and a completely unlikely scenario, but too intriguing to pass up. I hope you enjoy it.

Thanks to SairsJ for giving this the once over.

Disclaimer: I do not own Rookie Blue or any of its characters.

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><p>"Actually, I've been wondering why I got into this business in the first place."<p>

And he has… a lot. In fact, pretty much every night since he last saw her, walking away from him, after they almost…

He's not even sure who pulled back first; all he knows is that it didn't happen and at that point he couldn't help but wonder if it ever would. So when Boyd called him that night to say that everything had been moved up; he decided they could both use some space and some time. Maybe then they could figure out what they wanted.

The problem with that though, was that he knew what he wanted the minute he threw his bag down on the bed in his new loft apartment. He wanted her and he wanted to be at home where he knew he would see her the very next day.

It had to have been a sign; that was the closest they had come since the night of the blackout. What if she was ready? If he was still at home, he could make a move or maybe she could. Maybe they could have gone out to the Penny and he could have given her a ride home. Maybe…

But it didn't matter; once again, one of them (him this time) had walked away.

He missed his life… he missed her. She said time and space didn't work for her; well now he was realizing that time and space were no longer his friend either.

Sam kept a watchful eye on his companion, waiting for a reaction.

"You don't like working in the warehouse?"

"No… I mean yes… I mean… I don't want you to think I don't appreciate it; I do. Not many people were willing to give me a second chance. It's just… I've got a girl… or I had a girl… or I guess I want a girl." Sam really wasn't sure what he meant.

"I don't work you that hard." Brennan chuckled. "I'm sure you can have a girl; I actually know a few…"

"No." Sam shook his head. "I mean there was this girl, before I went away. I was kind of hoping there was something there but I think I screwed it up."

"So call her." Brennan suggested; it seemed simple enough to him - you don't know unless you try.

"Can't." Sam responded simply.

"Why not? I mean you're on the outside now right? It can't hurt and I can tell you from experience that if she's right girl… if you don't do everything you can…" He shook his head, trying to escape the unbidden memory he had been drawn into. "Believe me; it's worth taking a chance."

Sam nodded his head as he stared into his drink. He knew about Brennan's wife and it was obvious that her presence had had a profound effect on him. And he also knew that Andy would be more than worth it and that being with her would change everything. But how could he explain this to Brennan without giving himself away. He was starting to wonder if he should have kept his mouth shut, but it was too late now. Better to just roll with it.

Sam spoke directly to his drink. "She's a cop."

"What?" Brennan sputtered as he tried to swallow the sip of whiskey he had just taken.

Sam stole a glimpse at his companion from the corner of his eye before returning his attention to the glass in front of him. "Well, I'm pretty sure she is. She wanted to be; planned on going to the academy before, you know." He left it at that, knowing Brennan would assume what he wanted him to.

"Round about the time I went in, she would have been in the academy. I'm thinking by now she's got a couple years on the job, and well, I'm not exactly the kind of guy you take to the police picnic so…" Sam let the thought trail off holding his breath in anticipation of Brennan's reaction.

He dared another glance at his boss and he could see him mulling it over. He didn't seem angry or upset; he was surprisingly sedate and thoughtful as he met Sam's eye. "If you knew there was something there, why didn't you do something about it then?" He wondered.

"I thought about it…" Sam answered truthfully; he had seriously considered telling Boyd to forget the whole thing but, "…it's just that she had plans, all these plans for 5 years, 10 years… I didn't hear my name in those plans and I just figured there was no sense."

"Plans change." Brennan replied with a shrug of his shoulders; he knew that better than anyone. "And shit happens." He added because as his life was testament, sometimes they changed for the better and sometimes for the worse. "I can tell you the life ain't all it's cracked up to be, JD. You want this girl; you should do something about it. Clean up your act; be the kind of guy she needs."

"Yeah, maybe," Sam agreed, taking another sip from his glass, and wondered what he was thinking telling Brennan all of this; what was he trying to accomplish? It definitely wasn't doing anything for the operation.

Deep down though, he knew the answer. He was planting the seed, in case… Well, maybe he didn't know exactly what he was preparing for, but he wasn't lying; he really was wondering why he was there. The more time he had to think about it the surer he was that Andy was going to kiss him that night. He had said yes to Boyd thinking she still needed time and space to get over everything with Callaghan, but that night… well, it didn't look like she needed it anymore and now he was gone. No discussion, no goodbye, no way to find out. The first few days, he was hoping he could be in and out, back before she even got used to him being gone. But now it was looking like Brennan was still squeaky clean and so far he hadn't been very forthcoming. And Sam didn't want to be under for months. If Andy was ready, he wanted his life back. He wanted to be there. And right now Sam's gut was telling him that if he had been given the three weeks Boyd originally intended, he would have backed out.

"Hey…hey." Brennan nudged his shoulder.

Sam realized he must have been talking to him, though he had no idea for how long. "Yeah, sorry Boss."

"No, problem," Brennan responded with a soft chuckle. "Time to get out of here I think."

He chugged down the rest of his drink.

Sam nodded slowly and tipped his glass back, draining the remaining liquid. He could just make out Brennan mumbling to himself as he pushed his stool away from the bar. "Huh... fell in love with a cop."

Sam wasn't sure if he meant for him to hear or not, but he had. He thought about arguing; he hadn't said anything about love. But his heart wasn't in it. And unfortunately, he was finding that more and more as the undercover went on; Sam just wasn't committed. At least now, if he disappeared, he was sure Brennan wouldn't be surprised and then if they wanted to bring someone else in, they could.

Sam rose without another word, but he could tell that something else was on Brennan's mind as they made their way to the door. It didn't look like the man was going to share though as they parted ways outside the entrance and all Jamie offered was a quick, "see you tomorrow."

"Yeah, see you tomorrow." Sam echoed.

But then Brennan paused for a moment, shifted his body to look back. "Hey, JD?"

Sam turned curious. "Yeah, Boss?"

"Do you think she would help a guy out?"

Sam looked around; he didn't see any 'she'. He furrowed his brow. "Who? What?" He asked in confusion.

Brennan huffed out a breath. "Your girl… the cop… do you think she would, uh, do a favor? You know help 'a guy' out… if you asked her?"

Sam's eyebrows shot up; that was not at all what he was expecting. He tried to cover his surprise by pursing his lips and tilting his head to the side as if mulling over the possibility. He wasn't at all sure if this was a break or catastrophe, and he had no idea how to answer. _If he said no, would Brennan push it? Would he be mad? If he said yes, what would he be getting McNally into? If Boyd would even let McNally…_

In the end, Sam didn't like the sound of it, but how could he refuse? He really wanted to know what Brennan had in mind. He shrugged his shoulders. "I uh think she probably would; I ran into her just before I…" He took a deep breath. "It felt like maybe she might want to… I don't know. I think we both realized that the timing was off but lately I've just been thinking - even knowing that I was leaving and where I was going, it seemed like she still thought about… us."

Brennan nodded sympathetically. "Like you said; second chances are hard to come by so you shouldn't give this one up. But you won't have a hope in hell if she thinks you're still dirty. You know that right?"

"Yeah, I know." Sam agreed.

Brennan patted him on the back. "Looks like you've got some more thinking to do."

"Yeah, I do."

"Let me know what you decide." Brennan instructed.

Even knowing the other man's motives were far from pure, Sam nodded. It was obvious that he wanted something from 'JD's girl' now Sam just had to figure out what it was before he got her involved.

"And JD," Brennan interjected, stilling Sam's thoughts, "Keep it out of my warehouse. There won't be a third chance." He warned.

Sam nodded more emphatically. "Sure thing, Boss." Now that's what he had been expecting. He had put out a few feelers in the last couple of days hoping that word would get back to Brennan; at least one thing was working right.

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><p>Sam wandered home in no real hurry. He could have called a cab, but he needed the time to think. His intention tonight was to plan the seed in Brennan's mind that there was a possibility that he might not stay around for long. Instead, Brennan planted a seed in Sam's brain, almost giving him permission to do the thing he had wanted to do since he got there – talk to Andy. Could he have his cake and eat it too? It didn't seem to bother Brennan that 'his girl' was a cop. In fact, Brennan seemed excited about the possibility… but why?<p>

Sam unlocked the door to the loft and immediately switched off the cameras. He wanted to think it all through and he needed to do it without Boyd watching his every move and trying to get in his head. Unfortunately, Boyd didn't get the hint and Sam's phone rang seconds after the cameras went down.

"How'd it go?" Boyd asked excitedly. "Big deal when the boss takes you out for a drink."

"Not really." Sam responded with little emotion. As much as he would have liked it, this was not their big break; he couldn't be that lucky. No, all of the guys at the warehouse told him to expect it. Guaranteed they told him; within one month, he would get asked for drinks so Brennan could check him out, get to know him a little better. Apparently their boss was very hands on and kept close track of his employees. He could tell that some of them had their suspicions as to why but they kept it to themselves choosing only to say that he was a fair boss and he'd had a rough year. 'Don't piss him off and you'll be okay.' They instructed. 'Do your job and keep your head down. Stay off his radar and you won't have anything to worry about.'

Only problem – Sam wanted him to notice; it was his job to get on his radar and if he couldn't, that's when he would have something to worry about. So this week, Sam made it his mission to get the boss' attention, and it had obviously worked. Because just before Sam left after his shift, Brennan came down from his office and invited him for a drink, Alpine Inn, eight o'clock.

As all of his co-workers passed him sympathetic looks, Sam suppressed his desire to smirk. He remembered their warnings clearly; 'but if the boss invites you for that friendly drink alone, he's got something to say that he can't say in the warehouse, and you'd better listen.' They all told him it would remain cordial, but if he wanted to keep his job, he better do what the boss says. 'You do what he says, you'll be okay. You push your luck; don't be surprised if he shows up on your doorstep one night without warning. That's when you know he means business.'

So that's all it had been, a friendly warning for JD to keep his 'business' out of the warehouse. And no, this wasn't a big deal and Boyd shouldn't be getting his hopes up. In fact, right now Sam wasn't feeling hopeful at all and he thought maybe Boyd should know it.

"He's not doing anything. I've seen nothing and no one's talking. Right now I'm wondering why you got me into this in the first place." Sam was walking a fine line. He wanted out, even though he knew it was a lost cause; there was no way Boyd would let him. And he was pretty sure that if he even asked, it would shock the hell out of the detective. He came to Sam for a reason; Sam was good and he never gave up.

Except this time, he already had… before he had even started. He gave up her and that was the hitch.

"It's only been a couple of weeks Sammy." Boyd reminded him. "You should know as well as anyone how long it takes to get people to trust you. They're not just going to spill their guts because you flash them your dimples."

Sam ignored the dig and grimaced as he sat down on the end of his bed. "Of course I know that, but just because they don't tell me things right away doesn't mean I don't see them. Usually by the time they're willing to talk to me, I can tell them more about their operation than they can tell me. And I'm not seeing anything."

Boyd chuckled; that's why Sammy was the best. Nothing got by him. "Then you need to entice him, make it worth his while. Bring the business to him and he'll bite, once a dirt bag, always a dirt bag."

"But how is that going to help us get him for the good stuff?" Sam argued. "I know you don't want him on some low level drug charge."

"I don't know." Boyd conceded and Sam could tell he was getting frustrated; Boyd wasn't use to having to keep Sam motivated. It's probably why he kept picking him; Sam loved a challenge – no pep talk required. "Maybe he'll confide in you or brag it up a little."

"He's not that stupid." Sam knew that for a fact. You don't get away with what Brennan did by being careless.

And Boyd knew it too; it's just that if anyone could get through to him he figured it would be Swarek. Now he just had to keep him on track. "What did you talk about tonight?"

"Work… Women." Sam replied vaguely.

"Women?"

Sam could have sworn he heard Boyd's breath catch. _What did he know? What wasn't he saying?_

Boyd cleared his throat and tried to cover whatever he was thinking with a sarcastic remark. "You didn't tell him you had a crush on a rookie cop did you?"

"Hilarious." Sam responded, mirroring Boyd's tone to deflect what he really wanted to say. That's exactly why he wanted out, plain and simple, but there was no way he was going to let Boyd know just how close he had come to the truth. He'd lose it. That didn't mean Sam wasn't going to push his buttons though. "So what if I did?" He taunted.

"Ha…**you're** not that stupid Sammy. No matter how much you miss drooling over that rookie, you're not about to jeopardize a case. You're a pro and you know the drill. You know what you signed up for, same as always. You're not Sammy anymoer; you're JD and he is not hot for a rookie. Hell he wouldn't be caught dead with a cop and he's got nothing at home holding him back. Besides, you didn't have any plans remember?"

Oh he remembered, in fact it was all he ever thought about. "Yeah, well," Sam mumbled not wanting to dwell on it, "I'll call you when I get anything." He offered shortly and snapped the phone closed without waiting for a goodbye.

Sam flopped back down onto his back and laced his fingers behind his head. _'It's not like I had any plans.' Famous last words._

It's not like he had been lying to himself; he didn't have plans. But that wasn't the problem. It wasn't that he **had** plans… it was that he **wanted** them.

Now he just had to figure out how to get them before it was too late.

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><p><em>I'm happy to announce that I will be one of the moderators for 'The Rookies Choice Awards', where authors can be recognized and recognize those stories you deem amazing. These awards will be held through May and June 2012 and we would like to encourage each reader and author alike to participate in nominating their favorite fics and authors for the first year of the "Rookies Choice Awards!"<em>

_The nomination ballot, rules and category summaries can each be found (in time) at "The Parade" Forum. To reach those posts, please take a trip to the forum itself. _

_We look forward to hearing from each of you!_


	2. Chapter 2

This is more of a transition chapter to get Sam right where I want him. (Did I say that out loud?) I hope there's still enough action to keep you interested because the next chapter should really get things moving.

Thanks for reading. Thank you to all the reviewers that I cannot reply to personally. And thank you to SairsJ for taking time out of her busy schedule to look this over for me.

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><p>Sam pulled himself up off the mattress after a few moments, hunching over and resting his forearms against his knees as he sat at the edge. It was going to be a long night and he had a feeling that sleep was going to be hard to come by. His mind was racing but unfortunately he was getting nowhere fast. He needed to slow it down.<p>

He needed to find a way to relax so he could truly think this through. If he was at home, he'd head to the station, throw on the gloves and beat the living shit out of the punching bag. But he wasn't at home, which was of course the root of the problem, and the last thing he needed to be thinking about right now.

He finally pushed to his feet and headed towards the shower hoping to calm down enough to be able to get his thoughts in order. He looked at himself in the mirror as he entered and shook his head. _Keep it real_; well, he had definitely done that. Now all he could do was hope that reality wasn't going to jump up and bite him on the ass.

He took another step in and reached for the curtain, spreading it along the length of the tub. He twisted the handle, testing the water before redirecting the current to the shower head. Concentrating on the steady beat against the tile, he made short work of his clothes and dropped them in a heap on the floor before sliding the curtain back and stepping in.

He dipped his head under the hot spray intent only on the feeling of it washing over him. He didn't want to think about anything else right now; he needed to turn it all off. He knew he was delaying the inevitable but he just needed to regroup at least for a little while. So that's what he did enjoying the solace until the water started running cold and then he knew time was up.

The handle was twisted back and the curtain opened once again so he could step out and dry himself off. After wrapping the towel around his waist, he wiped the steam from the mirror and looked at himself once again… _back to reality._

Deciding against another beer, Sam pulled on a pair of pajama pants and threw together a lunch for tomorrow. He then brushed his teeth before flipping on the fireplace and crawling on top of the bed. As he pulled back the covers and climbed in, he reached over and re-set the clock. He had a feeling he was going to need the extra half hour he was giving himself and his shower tonight would afford him the opportunity.

He settled back down on the pillow and huffed out a breath. _Okay. _He pinched the bridge of his nose for a few seconds before he entwined his fingers and laid them over his eyes.

_He told Brennan about 'his girl' and now Brennan wanted a favor. So what if he said yes to Brennan? Told him he was going to call his girl and try to start something up. Could he do it without Brennan meeting her? Maybe he could say he did it and ask Brennan what the favor was. He could then get Boyd and his team to do whatever it was that Brennan wanted. Shit. But then what does he tell Boyd? He'd have a field day if Sam told him the truth. And would he even help?_

_What if he told Brennan no? That it wasn't worth it; that he was sure she didn't want anything to do with him. Would Brennan even take no for an answer? And would he for that matter? Sam really wanted to know what this favor was. Could it be the key to the whole op?_ This definitely wasn't where Sam was expecting it to go, but there wasn't much he could do now except ride it out.

He was pretty sure he was going to have to say yes.

_So fine. He says yes. Then what? Would Brennan tell him the favor so he could pass it along? And what could the man possibly want? What if he wanted them to do something illegal? Granted it might help them get him, but would it be enough; they wanted to get him for the good stuff. Would that mean that McNally would have to pretend to be a dirty cop so they could get him for more? Could he even ask her to do that? What if she got caught? She couldn't do it without someone else knowing. He'd have to tell Boyd. But he knew what would happen. Boyd would never let her in on it; if they needed someone to come in and 'play his girlfriend', it wouldn't be McNally. Boyd had a hate on for her and Sam knew why; she had thrown a wrench into more than one of his ops. Funny thing was, she had never gone against procedure, not once; she had done what any good cop would have done. But for some reason, Boyd couldn't see that; why the hell couldn't he just suck it up and admit that she wasn't to blame? _Sam shook his head. He was getting off track.

_So, he was going to say yes to Brennan. But if anyone had to pretend to be his girlfriend, he wanted it to be Andy. He knew he could do it if he absolutely had to; it wouldn't be the first time he played the part of a couple, but he always avoided those situations. Those feelings weren't as easy to fake as others. The only time he felt like it really worked was with Gabe and Edie, and deep down Sam knew he wasn't really faking it and he was beginning to realize that maybe Andy hadn't been either. So that meant he really didn't want to get Boyd involved if he could help it._

_But if he didn't tell Boyd then what? He couldn't really do anything on his own? He was working full time in the warehouse and he was pretty sure that Brennan would be watching his every move. Should he call Oliver? Jerry? Frank? Would any of them even understand? Would they go for it with no questions asked? Go for it without feeling the need to talk to Boyd? He knew one person who would._

It was late into the night before Sam fell into a fitful sleep. He had decided to let Brennan stew for a few days to see just how anxious he would get, to see if his desperation might cause him to tip his hand. And then if Brennan pushed it, he could tell him that he had called his girl and they were taking it slow, trying to see if they could be friends first. And then he would do what he could to find out what the favor was and go from there. He figured that once he knew the favor, he would know who to call.

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><p>The alarm rang way too early the next morning and Sam definitely did not feel well rested. He had tossed and turned for the better part of the night as one dream melded into the next, each one a mottled version of the same scene: Andy face to face with Brennan and neither one of them were smiling.<p>

So after indulging the snooze button one too many times, Sam grabbed his lunch and an apple from the fridge and headed into work making it just under the wire.

He tried to keep his head down and concentrate on the monotony of his task for the morning but his coworkers were making it difficult. He knew he looked like shit and based on the sympathetic looks he was getting, they were obviously jumping to conclusions. He looked exhausted, was completely focused on his work, and the boss had barely taken his eyes off of him. Something went down last night; they were all sure of it.

When the clock finally signaled noon, Sam was more than ready. He was tired of being under the microscope and the apple he had grabbed on his way out the door just wasn't cutting it. He wandered into the lunch room and he could see people nudging each other and flipping their heads towards him. They obviously wanted to ask him what went down but looking around, he didn't see think anyone would be brave enough to ask.

He was tired and he was hungry so he really wasn't in the mood to figure out what he wanted to tell them so he decided to find someplace else to eat. He reached into the fridge and pulled out the bag he had set in their earlier. He rolled his eyes at the sound of chairs scraping against the floor as everyone moved to make room around the table for him. He caught more than one stunned look as he walked right past the table and made his way to the doorway, but it wasn't just his actions that caught them by surprise.

There in the doorway stood the boss, who never, ever came to the lunch room; Sam had been told early on that it was some sort of safe haven type thing.

"JD." He beckoned. And when Sam looked up, he tipped his head towards his office and left without another word. _Be careful what you wish for…_

The room erupted into a million conversations as Sam followed the boss out and up the stairs, _out of the frying pan and into the fire._

The door to the office was open, but Sam still felt the need to give a quick knock before entering. Brennan gestured to a chair without looking up. "Have a seat."

Sam did as he was told without saying a word, setting his lunch down on the floor and waiting. He didn't know what else to do.

"You look like shit," Brennan observed finally meeting Sam's questioning gaze.

Sam chuckled humorlessly. "Didn't get much sleep."

"Hmmm." Jamie replied with a sharp nod, his eyes returning to the paperwork on his desk.

Sam again waited; he didn't know how to respond to that. He had no idea what was expected of him.

"You make a decision?" Brennan wondered, with only a momentary glance up, clearly trying to appear indifferent.

"Not yet." Sam responded.

"Let me tell you..." Jamie paused, finally putting down his pen and giving Sam his full attention, "a story."

Sam raised his eyebrows but didn't say anything.

"You finish your lunch?"

"Um…No."

Brennan gestured to the bag on the floor. "Please."

Sam reluctantly pulled his sandwich out and took a bite as Brennan began. "I used to be in the life."

"The life?" Sam queried, fishing for more details.

Brennan lowered his chin and frowned; he wasn't going to dignify that with a comment. He knew that Sam knew exactly what he was getting at. "I thought I was living the good life. I was good at what I did; made decent money. I had buddies I hung out with, poker, pool… women, if I wanted one. I was never bored; always had something on the go. I thought my life was pretty good. I didn't even know I was missing anything until…"

He expelled a long breath. "I'm not sure which one of us was in the wrong place at the wrong time, but… suffice it to say that it wasn't the most auspicious beginning. In the end though… best thing that ever happened to me. The more I saw her, the more I wanted to see her; I couldn't get enough. And for some reason, she seemed to like my company too.

She knew I wasn't a saint; she'd heard things, had probably been warned by a few people. I'm guessing that's why she kept me at arm's length, or at least tried to. But I made sure that I was there when she needed me and it was enough, for a while. Until she got involved with someone else…

I knew he wasn't right for her." He shook his head. "Well, I didn't really **know** it, but **I** wanted to be the one that was right for her so… I hated seeing her with him. Even though it was easy to see what she saw in him. I knew then that I had to do something to make her see me in a different light, to trust me with her heart."

A ghost of a smile haunted his lips and he shrugged his shoulders. "And finally… one day… I got my chance and I never looked back." He looked at Sam for the first time since he started his monologue. "I never saw myself as the guy in the suburbs with the two car garage until she showed me how good it could be. And when we had Grace…"

He picked up a picture from his desk and for a fleeting moment his face softened as he looked at it; he seemed almost content. But as quick as it came, it was gone again, hardened by the harsh reality of the last couple of months.

He set the photo back down gently, almost reverently before his focus came back onto Sam. "You heard what happened?"

Sam swallowed audibly; he could only imagine. "Yeah, sorry for your loss."

Brennan nodded, but didn't want to dwell. "The point is… 'the life' ain't a life at all. You may think you got it good, but you don't. You may think you're happy, but you don't know happy until… there's nothing like it. And women like that… like Maggie, like…" He paused and looked at Sam again.

"Andy." It slipped out in a whisper before Sam could even think to censor his thoughts.

"Like Andy…" he repeated. "They don't come around very often. So if there's a chance, any chance…" He held Sam's gaze. "The what if's will kill you. Not knowing… it tears you apart."

_Not knowing? _Sam felt like he was missing something, and despite his best efforts, it was hard not to feel sorry for the man. Cold blooded killer or not, he had lost everything that meant anything to him and so far it looked like time wasn't healing any of those wounds.

"I'll ask her about the favor." Sam offered. "Just let me know what…"

Brennan didn't want pity and he wasn't quite ready to trust JD completely so he brushed it off. "You just worry about getting her back; then we'll talk."

Without another word, Jamie picked up his pen and resumed his paperwork. And Sam knew that was his cue to leave.

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><p>Brennan remained in his office for the rest of the afternoon, his eyes alternating between JD on the floor and the picture on his desk; it was a photo of his wife and child. It had been a couple of months now, but he still woke up every morning completely happy for those first five seconds until… He shook his head and looked back down to the warehouse floor. He didn't want to pressure JD, but he wasn't sure he'd ever get a chance like this again. And he'd made a promise.<p>

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><p>It had been a long day and Sam was ready to go home... a long three days actually.<p>

It had been three days since Sam had been out for drinks with his boss, two days since he had met with Brennan over lunch. And he knew the boss was getting frustrated with him; he had been watching Sam all day and he wasn't even trying to hide it. Time and again, Sam would feel eyes boring into his back and he would look up to find Brennan watching him. The man never looked away; it was almost like he wanted Sam to catch him. Each time, he would simply nod and return to his work.

Unfortunately, Sam still didn't know what to do with Jamie's request. He couldn't call Andy; he knew that. But what could Brennan want from a cop? He didn't dare make a move until he knew Brennan's ulterior motive, but the man wasn't giving away anything.

_Should he say he thinks he's going to call her and then ask Brennan what he wants? He could always say he couldn't reach her if he doesn't like what he hears. No; he knew he wasn't going to hear anything from Brennan, not yet. He was going to have to buy some time, say he called her and then tell Brennan he couldn't pressure her for the favor just yet. Tell him he had to get things solid first, maybe pretend to date her and then after a bit tell Brennan he was ready to ask. _

He knew Boyd wouldn't let McNally in though; he despised her and how could Sam even begin to explain why Brennan requested her… well not exactly her, but the girl JD had a crush on. And Boyd would more than likely suggest bringing in someone else, but Sam didn't think he had it in him to pretend that hard. Plus he'd have to tell Boyd that her name had to be Andy; that would go over well.

No, Sam was not going to tell Boyd unless he had to.

The man was already driving him nuts, calling every night after work just to have Sam to tell him the same thing. 'I'm working on something; I'll let you know.'

Yeah, Brennan wasn't the only one frustrated with Sam. At least with Boyd blissfully unaware, he could hold him off a little longer - Brennan, not so much.

"JD."

The entire staff froze.

"Yeah, Boss."

"You like to play pool?"


	3. Chapter 3

This chapter is a little shorter, but it gets us to an interesting place and I couldn't resist ending it there. I want to get this done before the new season starts, but hopefully, I'm not rushing the story too much. I have a feeling if time was not an issue, I'd probably delve into things a little deeper but I am definitely not complaining that the new season is starting early. I can't wait!

Thanks again to SairsJ for the second set of eyes.

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><p><em>You like to play pool?<em>

Sure Sam liked to play pool, but he was pretty sure they wouldn't be playing at anything tonight. This was the real deal.

He pulled on his jacket and headed out after having run home for a shower and a bite to eat. Brennan was supposed to meet him there at seven o'clock, and according to everyone who had gawked at him after Brennan walked away, it wasn't a good idea to keep the Boss waiting. He glanced at his watch as he checked the switch to make sure the cameras were still running and a thought crossed his mind. _Boyd hadn't called yet. _But Sam couldn't afford to wait around.

He was just pulling open the door of the Alpine Inn at six fifty-nine when he spotted Brennan at the bar. "Hey, Boss," he greeted as he pulled up the stool beside him.

"You made it," Brennan noted by way of a greeting. He signaled over the bartender before asking Sam. "what'll you have?"

Contemplating for a moment, Sam ordered a beer. He would have really loved a scotch, but he decided it was probably a better idea to stick with the lower alcohol content. He would need to keep a clear head for this discussion.

After taking a long pull from his beer, Sam was surprised when Brennan didn't get straight to the point, instead choosing to talk about the weather and the warehouse. Sam simply followed his lead and the two men made small talk at the bar for a good hour before Brennan finally stood. "I'll just go get our name on the table," he offered.

Sam nodded. He hadn't really been paying attention beyond hearing the occasional cheer coming from behind him, but it sounded like the pool table had stayed pretty busy since he had sat down. He had actually been starting to wonder if the invite to play pool had just been a ruse to get him alone to talk. But the questions hadn't come yet either.

Sam had just picked up his beer to take another drink when he heard Brennan call out. "Hey JD, you ready to play?"

Sam spun in his seat. _Yeah, he should have been paying attention to the table._

He pulled the beer away from his lips and swallowed before offering their opposition an artificial smile. It was obvious he had caught them by surprise too. Nash immediately turned her head away pretending to look around the bar but she was clearly trying to conceal any tell that might be on her face. Andy, on the other hand, seemed frozen on the spot, and Sam wondered if Brennan picked up on the obvious recognition in her eyes.

Sam rotated back to the bar and sucked in a breath. _Shit!_ Decision time came a lot faster than he had hoped. _He could pretend that he didn't know them; play the game and then encourage them to move along or… maybe this was the universe's way of telling him that bringing Andy in was the right thing to do_. It was now or never; he'd never be able to bring her in after this, Brennan would recognize her. So as always he trusted his gut and waited for Brennan to come to him.

When JD didn't come over right away, Brennan excused himself under the pretense of buying the ladies a drink. Sam felt a hand on his shoulder and looked up to see Brennan motion for two more beers. "Games on, JD. Let's go."

"Uh." Sam hesitated.

"Something wrong?"

_Now or never. _"That's her."

"What? Who?" Brennan looked around confused.

"The brunette…the…yeah, the one in the blue shirt…it's her."

"Her?"

Sam raised his eyebrows and dropped his chin urging Brennan to catch up.

"Your girl?"

_Well, not yet, but he could hope. _"Yeah, what do you think she's doing here? Do you think they sent her in after me?" Sam pretended to be in a panic, though it wasn't too much of a stretch. "Maybe she didn't know… no, that doesn't make sense; they would have given her a picture," he pondered out loud.

Brennan shrugged. "Maybe she's after me."

_No!_ Sam's mind screamed at him; _he couldn't have Brennan thinking she was after him; he might..._ "Why would she be after you, Boss?" Sam posed, feigning ignorance; after all he wasn't supposed to know anything about Brennan except for what he had told him. "You're not… are you dealing? Is that why you didn't want me doing business in the warehouse?"

"No," Brennan refuted. "I told you, I was in a long time ago, but I got out."

"So why would she be after you then?"

"I don't know. I'm sure they're hoping to pin me for something," Brennan spat out bitterly. "It wouldn't be the first time the cops stuck their nose in where it didn't belong."

_This could work. _"So… nothing too bad though… I mean if they only sent in two women." Sam looked around scanning the crowd. "Unless they have back up?"

Brennan's eyes swept the bar as well, but he didn't see anyone that stood out.

"What are they looking to get you for? Stolen Goods? Drugs?"

Brennan shook his head. "They wouldn't send in two women for what I… for what they want me for," he confirmed.

_No shit! _"So then it has to be me… she knows I'm dealing…" Sam worried.

Brennan shook his head again; he wasn't totally convinced and definitely wasn't ready to just blow her off, not when he was this close. "Come on. Let's see how this plays out, see if she keeps up the same act."

"Fine," Sam agreed, "but I want some time to talk to her alone. Find out what she's doing here, if her friend's a cop too. Maybe it's just a coincidence; maybe she doesn't even know I'm dealing again."

Brennan couldn't afford to believe in coincidences. "A cop doesn't just show up in a place like this without cause, and she definitely wouldn't bring a friend."

"Right." Sam conceded.

"Okay. So let's just play it cool; see what happens. See if she acknowledges you or not."

"And if she doesn't?"

"Do you think she'll tell you the truth?"

"What do you mean?"

"If you ask her, will she tell you what's going on?"

"I think so." Sam shrugged. "I mean she knows that I know she went to the academy."

"Okay then. So we play a game. Then I find a way to keep her friend occupied and you go talk to her."

"Let's go." Sam stood as Brennan picked up the beers and led him back to the pool table.

The game progressed with little discussion, though there were plenty of controlled looks exchanged between Sam and Andy.

When they got down to the final few balls, Brennan decided that if they weren't giving anything away, it was time for him to make his move. He made his way around the table for his next shot and glanced up at the two women. "So what brings you two here?"

"We're just here for a couple of nights," Andy revealed. "We're actually leaving tomorrow on a six a.m. flight."

"That's too bad," Brennan responded.

Andy shrugged. "It's okay," she countered. "What sucks is that I lost all my luggage; ya know I got nothing left except for a bus token." She looked pointedly at Sam as she finished, knowing he would understand what she was getting at.

"Been there; you'll make it," Sam encouraged, confirming he knew exactly what brought them to the Alpine Inn, and likely why he hadn't received Boyd's nightly call.

Scratching on the eight ball, Jamie pulled up from the table and expelled a breath. He extended his hand. "Jamie, Jamie Brennan," he introduced shaking Andy's hand before looking over at Sam and pointing. "That's uh JD. He started working for me a couple of weeks ago."

"Okay," Andy replied softly, motioning towards herself. "I'm Candace, and uh this is Doreen," she continued with a hand towards Traci.

Jamie directed a smile at Traci nodding slightly before putting his arm around Andy and pulling her back to the table. "Okay," he paused knowingly, "…Candace. Only the eight ball left; don't choke."

"Okay." Andy replied hesitantly before lining up her shot and taking it. Unfortunately, she bounced it off the edge of the pocket and it didn't go in. Jamie chuckled softly and she turned to Traci with chagrin. "Sorry."

Jamie took a step forward and handed his cue off to Sam. "All yours; take it away."

Sam set his beer down on the rail and started lining up the shot.

"No mercy," Brennan urged his partner though he directed his comment to the girls.

Sam was quick to comply, immediately sinking the eight ball in the side pocket and ending the game.

"Boom!" Brennan threw his hand down in celebration as Sam lifted the cue and directed it squarely at Andy and Traci. "Pay up ladies," he ordered and Andy couldn't help the small grin that appeared on her lips.

"No, no, no," Brennan disputed, wiping the smile from Andy's face. "Not yet. Let's go double or nothing," he suggested looking at Andy before throwing a quick glance over at Traci.

Andy waved him off. "Uh, you know, no, I gotta get up early tomorrow so I'm out," she explained with a shake of her head.

"That's good," Brennan nodded. "Because, sweetheart I hate to tell you but you're dragging your partner down here." He looked to Traci. "Doreen, you wanna go straight up, double or nothing?"

Traci tilted her head and looked over to Andy for confirmation before looking back to Brennan. "Um…"

It was all she got out before Brennan walked away to set up the next game. "Good," he decided for her.

Sam nodded in acceptance, while Andy looked around uncomfortably. She wasn't sure if she should stand and watch the game or…

_Not, apparently. _

Sam motioned her to a nearby table and went to the bar to get them each another beer. When he sat back down, he watched her fumble with her earring before asking. "What brings you to town?"

Andy furrowed her brow trying to figure out how she was supposed to play this. _Decide on a character and stick with it. _"Uh."

Sam tilted his head to the side and she knew with just that look that he was saying 'come on McNally it's me.' She shrugged and lowered her voice to a whisper. "Boyd's scavenger hunt as I'm sure you've guessed." At Sam's nod, she continued. "I remembered you talking about this place and we were close by; Traci wanted to play some pool to make some money so… should we really be talking about this?" She wondered looking around guiltily.

"Probably not," Sam grinned. "But I don't always do what I'm supposed to so."

Andy couldn't help but smile back until she saw Brennan approaching from behind Sam. She flicked her eyes up to alert Sam and he turned around.

Brennan tilted his head towards the bar and Sam stood. "I'll be right back. You need another?" He asked flipping his hand toward her beer.

"I'm good," she answered.

Sam nodded, his gaze lingering on her for a few extra seconds before he joined his boss.

Sam walked up to the bar. "You want..." Brennan tipped his hand to the bartender in question.

"We're good." Sam smirked._ Yeah, she was good alright. She looked good, smelled good…_

Brennan motioned for one before meeting Sam's eye. "Did she uh tell you what was going on because her friend there is acting like she wants to score?"

Sam snuck a quick peek at Andy; he hadn't had a chance to warn her yet, but he was going to have to find a way to broach the subject before she left. _There was no going back now._ "Yeah… she did become a cop. They're doing a rookie initiation type thing. I guess they get dropped off in the middle of nowhere with no money and no phone, just the token to catch a bus back to the station. Whichever rookie comes back with the most money, drugs, whatever wins."

Brennan chuckled before pursing his lips. "Interesting. Why?"

"See if they'll be any good at undercover I guess. It's run by a detective out of Guns and Gangs." Sam had no idea why he threw that out there.

Brennan nodded, contemplating. "Well, I think we should help them out."

"Seriously?" Sam was stunned.

"Sure, why not? They're not after us and just because I know where they can score doesn't mean I'm dirty. I think Doreen, or whatever the hell her name is, is going to kick my ass anyway so she might as well put the money to good use. I'll just tell them about Donny upstairs; he's a crazy son of a bitch but he'll take care of them if they say I sent them."

Sam shook his head in disbelief. "I don't think I've ever met a con… sorry, ex-con," he corrected himself when Brennan's glared at him, "who was willing to help the cops… unless he had no other choice."

"Well, I don't make it a habit." Brennan shrugged. "But it never hurts to build up a little goodwill every now and again. Never know when you might need a hand yourself."

That was the second time Brennan alluded to a possible favor where Andy was concerned and Sam didn't like the implications. But it was too late to worry about that now; she was already in deep whether she knew it or not. "We better get back." Sam suggested gesturing towards the girls.

Nodding in agreement, Brennan returned to the pool table while Sam slid back into his chair in front of Andy. He really needed to give her a heads up as to what he thought might be coming her way. Not that he really knew himself, but at least she needed to be forewarned.

"Andy, I need to talk to you about what's happening here."

"Is that okay? I mean, Boyd probably wouldn't like it very much."

_Only if we have to tell him._ Sam thought. "Probably not, but it's important for you to know that…"

Traci let out a whoop and Andy turned around just as the eight ball sank. She flipped her head back to Sam. "Okay, we gotta go."

Sam blew out a breath; apparently he wasn't going to get to tell her tonight. "Yeah, you gotta find a place to put your head down for the rest of the night." He paused frowning. "Not here." He ordered.

Andy nodded in understanding. She guided a loose hair behind her ear as she stood to join Traci who was tucking the winnings into the pocket of her jeans.

"She smoked me," Brennan informed before pleading. "Okay, come on, one more."

"No. We gotta get out of here," Andy declined on Traci's behalf. "Uh, it was nice to meet you," she directed at Jamie who returned the sentiment. She then turned back to Sam. "JD, it was nice to meet you; maybe we'll see you around some time." She added with a small but pointed smile.

"Yeah, you never know," Sam agreed, hoping it would be sooner rather than later.

He watched her over his shoulder as she walked away and turned back to Jamie only when he could no longer see her. It was obvious to Brennan that Sam wasn't kidding when he said he 'wanted a girl'.

"Come on," Brennan motioned towards the bar and chuckled lightly. "I'll buy you another beer and try to convince you, you still got a shot." He goaded.

Sam tried to return the smile but it came out more like a grimace. _Man, I hope so._

* * *

><p>They had been leaning against the bar nursing their drinks and talking for about a half hour when Brennan glanced up over Sam's shoulder. "Well, look whose back." He announced.<p>

Sam turned his head and his eyes widened in surprise when he saw Andy approaching.

"Hey." She greeted.

Sam furrowed his brow as he straightened up. "Hey." He returned tentatively.

Before Andy had a chance to explain what she was doing there, Brennan moved around beside Sam and extended his hand. "Andy, wasn't it?"


	4. Chapter 4

Before Andy could explain why she had come back, Brennan moved around beside Sam and extended his hand. "Andy, wasn't it?"

Panic flashed in Andy's eyes but she schooled it as quick as it came; _she must have heard him wrong._ "No, no, it's Candace; I don't really go by Candy," she explained shaking her head.

Sam had to laugh but he also couldn't help but feel proud; he was actually impressed with how well she covered herself. Now he just had to figure out how to explain it all to her, if he even could. There were still missing pieces he didn't know.

"I said Andy," Brennan responded looking her square in the eye and showing her that he knew he had it right.

Andy nodded slowly, not sure what to make of this. She turned her attention back to Sam and furrowed her brow. He could see the wheels spinning in her head, trying to make sense of something that really didn't make sense at all. What Sam had done had gone against every bit of training she would have ever received.

"S…" She tilted her head to the side as her frown deepened; she was still caught up in her own thoughts.

Sam cleared his throat and watched as her eyes came back into focus. He looked right at her, imploring her to remember how well they worked together, to remember how to read him. He needed her to get it and he couldn't say a word, not yet, not with Brennan right there.

Andy shook her head; obviously trying to compose herself enough to respond intelligently. "JD…" she started softly before managing to squeak out the rest. "Can I talk to you for a moment… alone?"

Sam expelled the breath he had been holding. _He knew she'd get it._

Brennan chuckled. "I'll be here," he explained leaning back up against the bar and reaching for his bottle not bothered by her request in the least.

Sam put a hand on the small of Andy's back, and with the other, he motioned to a nearby table where Brennan wouldn't be able to hear them.

She moved along blindly, allowing him to take control and guide her over. Once again, he was the TO and she was the rookie choosing to let him take charge and trusting that he knew exactly what he was doing. _If only._

When they reached the table, Sam helped her onto her stool before taking the one across from her. "What the hell is going on?" She whispered in panic, looking around the room as if it held the answer.

"Just relax. It's okay."

"Okay? How the hell can it be okay? He knows who I am!" Her eyes were wide and he could see that it was taking all of her willpower to be as quiet as she was.

"I know…"

Her head flipped from side to side as something dawned on her. "Does he… are you…" She lowered her chin and dropped her voice even further. "We gotta get you out of here."

He was starting to lose her. "Andy. Andy," he tried, but she wasn't looking at him; she was looking for the nearest exit. He finally placed his hand over hers in what he hoped was a calming gesture and then he waited for her to look at him.

"Listen to me, okay?" He pleaded, holding her gaze until she nodded.

"I'm okay; I haven't been made."

"Then how…"

He shot her a look that she should know all too well – the 'McNally, it's my turn to talk' look. And she got it. It was familiar and comfortable; he had to be the boss right now and it was up to her to listen. She stopped talking and waited for him to continue. He gave her a reassuring smile.

"Okay, I don't know how much time we have so I'll tell you as much as I can as quickly as I can. No questions." He held up his hand when she was about to speak. "Uh-uh, not until the end."

She nodded again.

"I'm sure you've figured out by now that I was called in early; Boyd just came over that night and said I had to go, so I did. But it didn't take me long once I was here to realize that I didn't want to be." That got her attention; she sat up straight and took in a breath, comment at the ready. But Sam shot her a look and she slunk back into her seat.

"There were things," he looked at her pointedly, "that I was missing from home and for the first time ever, I was finding it hard to just let go of my life and become someone else." He held her eye. "I wanted to go home."

He could see that she was surprised and full of questions, but they would have to get into that later.

"A few days ago, I went for a drink with Jamie, here as a matter of fact, and I told him that I wondered why I got into this business. I'd been thinking about it a lot; I was trying to find a way to get out of this." He swallowed audibly, the tough part still to come. "… and I ended up telling him that I was missing someone from uh before I went away..."

Andy's heart started to race hoping against hope that he wasn't making it up, that he was talking about her, that he missed her as much as she had missed him. _Could it be true or was it just an excuse to get out of there? He was the one that always said to keep it real._

Sam could see he was losing her to her thoughts so he cleared his throat and continued quickly.

"I was just trying to hint that I might be leaving. I wanted to make sure he wouldn't be surprised if I just took off and I didn't want to screw things up so badly that they couldn't bring in someone else to take over and work him. But then he said I should just call y… her and I had to think of a reason why that wouldn't work." He shrugged his shoulders. "The only thing I could think of, was that y… she was a cop and since I'm supposed to be a bad ass drug smuggler, there would be no way it would work."

Andy was silent, trying to absorb it all. She looked at Sam waiting; there had to be more.

"We got to talking and…" He blew out a long breath and tilted his head to look at the ceiling. "A name slipped out." He slowly lowered his gaze and met her eye. "Your name."

"My name?" She whispered in awe.

"Just Andy, he doesn't know your last name," Sam assured shaking his head.

Andy's eyebrows were up again and she was nodding slowly as if trying to truly understand it all.

"Is that all?" She wondered.

"In a nut shell."

"Is it true?"

"Andy." He warned; they couldn't have that discussion, not here. He tried to convey with his eyes that he wanted to talk about it but he just couldn't, not yet.

"So were you going to call?" She dropped her gaze to the table and rubbed her hands nervously together. "Or were you coming home?" Then she froze for a second and her head snapped up. "Does Boyd know?"

Sam shook his head. "I wasn't sure what I was going to do after I told Brennan but then you and Nash showed up here and… I just went with my gut."

She was silent for a few seconds, taking it all in. She tilted her head to the side. "So, you seeing a cop, is that okay with him?"

Sam couldn't help the small grin. "Is that what I'm doing? Seeing a cop?"

Andy blushed before stuttering out a response. "What? No. I mean… well, you told him…"

Sam's smirk grew; he liked it when she got flustered.

She glared at him. "You know what I mean. Isn't he worried that you're interested… that you might… that you know a cop personally?"

"That's the thing. It didn't bother him in the least. I thought it might speed things up, that he might want me out, but he actually asked for a favor."

"From you?"

"No, from you."

"Me?"

"Yeah."

"What is it? I mean am I even supposed to… What do we do?"

_We. _She was already in it with him. He hadn't even asked her to do it, had simply told her what Brennan wanted and she was already ready to back him up. "I don't know. I have no idea."

Just then Brennan walked over and Andy was at a loss; she didn't get enough from Sam. She didn't know if he meant he didn't know the favor or he didn't know what to do.

Brennan pulled up another chair. "So, JD here tells me you're a cop."

Andy looked at Sam for a boost of confidence and she could see it in his eyes - _There's no one I'd rather be here with. _"Uh… yeah… sorry about the whole…" _Keep it as close to the truth as possible. _"…anyway, we're kind of on a test here, whatever you want to call it. They want to see if we can hack it undercover." Andy chuckled to herself, recalling the infamous John sweep from what seemed like ages ago. "Apparently I'm not faring so well with that."

Brennan laughed with her; he liked her already. "Not your fault you ran into someone you know."

Andy thought about that for a second. _Why __**did**__ Boyd drop them off so close to where Sam was working? _

Brennan cleared his throat. "Can I ask you a question?"

"Sure."

"You like it… being a cop I mean?"

She gave him a soft smile and he could see it in her eyes before she even answered. "I do. I love being a cop. I know I haven't been at it long, but it's great."

Brennan nodded. "How long **have** you been on the force?"

"A couple of years now."

"How much experience do you have with accidents?"

"Accidents?"

"Car accidents," he clarified.

"I don't know," Andy shrugged. "Quite a bit I guess. See them all the time."

As her T.O., Sam knew she was more than competent with accidents; unfortunately, in Toronto, they were a common occurrence.

"What about ones with casualties or ones that might look… suspicious?"

Andy thought for a moment. "Not as much I suppose. But I do know what to look for and what has to be done if that's what you mean."

Brennan had to make a decision. This was his in and he didn't have a lot of other options. He looked over at JD who seemed mesmerized by the pretty young officer; he obviously trusted her and she had to have some kind of faith in him. At least she hadn't gone running anyway, even knowing his history and knowing he had outed her when she was supposed to be undercover. He looked at her again. There was just something about her, something that told him that she cared about people; that she wanted to do right by everyone she met.

Hoping he had read her correctly, he decided to trust her. "I, uh, my wife and daughter were in an accident a couple of months ago." He looked over at JD. "I don't know how much you heard."

"Not much, just that it was a car accident. Sorry."

"Thanks." He looked back at Andy and he could see the sympathy in her eyes; he was sure then that he hadn't read her wrong. "It was a freak accident. Well that's what they think anyway. I'm not sure."

Sam was shocked; he had no idea. Boyd had told him nothing about the accident being suspicious.

"What do you mean?" Andy asked.

"I remember that weekend like it was yesterday. Maggie was taking Gracie to a birthday party; she was so excited. We had just taken her shopping the day before; we bought this stuffed dog to give to her friend." Brennan was no longer looking at either of them; he was completely lost in the memory and both Sam and Andy could see the devotion in his eyes. "Gracie loved it; it looked just like our dog. She just kept saying over and over 'elda Daddy, it's 'elda'. I was going to buy her one for Christmas." He glanced at Andy. "Our dog's name was Zelda."

Andy pressed her lips together into a tiny smile, but her eyes were glassy. She had no idea how to respond to that; there were no words. Instead she blinked her eyes slowly, hoping to convey her sympathy without having to speak; she knew her voice would crack if she even tried.

She cleared her throat after a couple of seconds, needing to keep things moving. "So what makes you think it wasn't an accident. What did they tell you?"

Brennan grinned. He felt like maybe he had her hooked and if nothing else, she was at least curious.

"There was nothing wrong with the car when I took them to the mall the day before; I made sure Maggie had it looked at regularly. Sure it was old, but we took care of it. There was no way I was going to let them drive them around in a..." He took a deep breath, "in a death trap."

Andy drew in a shaky breath.

"I saw the accident report," he continued. "But, I don't know; it was only a couple of pages long and..."

That stunned Andy; _an accident with two fatalities and the report was only a couple of pages. _

Brennan could see her surprise. "What is it?"

"Could be nothing; I don't know. It's just I know my T.O. would never…"

"T.O.?" Brennan interrupted.

"Sorry, my Training Officer," she clarified, purposefully keeping her eyes away from Sam. "There's no way he would let me get away with a report that was only a few of pages long. There should be statements, reconstruction reports; those alone would be at least a couple of pages each." Andy shrugged; she didn't really want to throw anyone under the bus but it didn't make sense. "I guess it could just be a sloppy job, but…"

"Would you look into it for me?" He wondered.

Andy furrowed her brow in confusion. "There wasn't an investigation?"

"There was," Brennan admitted. "But, I don't know; it doesn't feel right. The cops told me the electrical systems failed, brakes, steering, everything, even the gas line was supposed to be damaged. They said the car hit a tree and went up and now the car is gone and I've got nothing." He held her eye. "It was my job to take care of them… and I didn't. Please?" He begged.

Andy felt for the man, she did; it was terrible what happened to his family. But she was still hesitant; she looked to Sam hoping for a clue as to how she should answer. "I…uh…I'm not sure what I could do," she admitted, addressing them both.

"I just… I need to know for sure…"

Andy hadn't heard anything about Sam's case; for all she knew, he could be the world's biggest con artist, but she didn't think so – not generally the kind of thing guns and gangs gets involved with. But one thing she did know; he was being honest about how he felt about his family. "I… can I think about it?"

"Of course," he conceded reaching into his pocket and pulling out the wad of cash she had seen earlier.

Andy's eyes widened. _Did he really think he could bribe her?_

Brennan leaned over the table but he handed the bills to Sam. "Can you get us another round?"

Sam looked at Andy and she gave him an almost imperceptible shrug. _ They were in the middle of the bar; what could happen?_

"Uh, sure," Sam agreed reluctantly.

"Take your time." Brennan advised and Sam could tell it was an order.

As Sam walked away, Andy steeled her shoulders and prepared herself for the hard sell, but it didn't come. "So, how well do you know JD?"

"We met a couple years back, but we lost touch when…" She wasn't exactly sure what Sam's cover story was.

"I know he went to jail." Brennan confirmed assuming she was worried about revealing his past to his boss.

"Yeah, he just came up to me one day and told me he was going away. I knew I wouldn't be seeing him after that. I had to move on and just do my job, be a good cop; I mean how would it look?" She let out a long breath; it was almost a sigh. "I still hoped everything would work out with him in the end."

"You care about him." It was more of a statement than a question.

Her eyes softened. "It was nice to see him again; I missed him. And yeah, I do care, but I'm just not sure you know. It seems like the timing is never quite right with us."

"Maybe it was just meant to be, you coming here tonight."

"Maybe," Andy conceded. "I'm just not sure what he wants yet; I'm not sure if he even knows. But it's up to him now; he has to decide if it's worth it, making a change. Do you think he might?" She asked hopefully.

Frankly Brennan didn't know for certain. He knew that JD was considering straightening out his life; unfortunately, that probably wasn't good enough for her. But since he wanted Andy's help and that would only come if JD was part of it, he needed to bolster her confidence in him. "He works in my warehouse now; it's an honest job. And from what I've seen and heard, he really wants to make it work, and not just for himself," he added pointedly.

Andy blushed and looked down at her drink. She knew that she and Brennan were talking about two totally different situations, but it was hard not to hope that he really wanted to 'make it work'. And the thought of that alone made her smile.

And Brennan could see exactly why she would be someone worth straightening out for.

Sam returned with their drinks just then and he was puzzled by the expression on Andy's face; she almost looked content. As he placed the glasses on the table, she could feel his eyes on her and it was too much; she needed to compose herself if she was going to keep up the charade. She jumped up from her seat. "Excuse me; I'm just going to…" She let the thought trail off as she motioned in the direction of the ladies room and took off towards it.

As soon as Andy was out of earshot, Sam laid into Brennan. "You really want the cops looking into your business?" Aren't you afraid she'll go digging into your past?"

"There's nothing to see," Brennan defended. "I did my time and that's the end of it; she won't find anything… except for maybe a few suspicions. And right now, it's more important that I find out what happened to my family so..."

"You're not worried at all?"

"Why would she look into me? When she has no reason to? You told her you were on the up and up I hope. Didn't give her any reason to dig?"

Sam nodded.

"They got nothing anyway." Brennan repeated, not sure if he was trying to convince JD or himself. But right now it didn't matter; the only thing that mattered was the truth.

"But what if she does… look you up?"

"Like I said, she won't find anything." Brennan insisted.

"How bad though?" Sam was probably pushing his luck, but the opportunity was there and he couldn't let it pass by.

"What?"

"How bad? If she does decide to look, will it spook her? What if she gets scared or worse tells someone else and they start digging?"

"That's where you come in." Brennan explained, purposely avoiding the question. "You tell her that everything is on the up and up, that you haven't seen anything suspicious."

"I…uh…I guess I can do that." Sam agreed.

"You haven't seen anything have you?" Brennan inquired; he had been very careful about keeping his warehouse clean, especially when he made a habit of giving second chances.

"No, Sir."

"Then we'll be fine."

"As long as she believes me," Sam qualified, playing devil's advocate. "I mean, I don't have the greatest track record."

"I think you underestimate yourself. She has more faith in you than you think and I think she's willing to prove it."

Sam furrowed his brow; he just realized something. "You have faith in **her**." It wasn't even a question.

"I do," Brennan admitted with a soft laugh. He was surprised himself; he had a hard time trusting anyone and he had just met her. "There's just something about her," he confessed. "I don't even know what it is."

"I know." Sam agreed, chuckling to himself. _There was something about Andy that just drew people in, apparently even psychopaths._

And she was now on her way back. Brennan nodded to her before leaning in towards Sam. "You got good taste."

"Yeah, I do," Sam agreed with a faraway look in his eye.

Brennan could see he had it bad for this girl and who could blame him; she was a keeper just like his Maggie. "Woman like that doesn't knock on your door every day. Go on," Brennan urged just as Andy reached the table.

Sam stood up. "Let's go."

"Where are we going?"

"I was thinking; if you're not doing anything in the next couple of hours…"

* * *

><p>The Rookie's Choice awards are starting in a few days. Make sure to head over to the Forum and check out The Parade where you'll find all the details. Categories will be posted soon.<p> 


	5. Chapter 5

I struggled with this chapter a little; I think it was because they did such a great job with episode 2x11 that I didn't want to mess with it. I had to decide. If I stuck too close to the original, would people be bored because they'd already seen it all? If I went totally away from it, would people miss all those amazing parts that we saw play out last year. In the end, I couldn't resist; if it ain't broke, don't fix it.

I hope you enjoy my little take on the evening and I hope I included enough variation to keep your interest. I'm sure you'll recognize some of the really great parts that just begged to be included. And I'm sure you can all appreciate just how much suffering I went through from having to watch and re-watch those scenes between Sam and Andy over and over and over again ;) It's a dirty job...

* * *

><p>Sam stood up. "Let's go."<p>

"Where are we going?"

"I was thinking; if you're not doing anything in the next couple of hours…" He held her gaze watching as her eyes widened in surprise. And then he paused for a second. He knew that she knew that they needed to talk, but he was still anxious; it just felt so… real. "…maybe we could go back to my place and, I don't know, catch up a little."

Andy smiled. Catching up wasn't exactly her original intention when she came back to find him but they did need to talk, and they would finally be alone so...

She nodded before turning to Brennan. "Jamie, it was nice talking to you."

"You too."

"Um, I guess… I mean… I'll…"

"You can let me know."

"Sure, okay." She furrowed her brow. "How will I…"

"If I don't see you," Brennan tipped his chin towards Sam, "JD here knows how to reach me so if you just want to let him know."

"Oh, okay." She agreed reluctantly; she had been hoping she wouldn't be leaving Sam behind.

"Let's go," Sam repeated, moving his hand to the small of her back and guiding her to the door.

"See you tomorrow, JD."

"Bye, Boss."

They walked out into the night air and both blew out a relieved breath. Andy pulled her toque out of her pocket and placed it on her head. She looked at Sam and tilted her head. "Lead the way," she shrugged.

They walked in silence for a few moments content to just be in each other's company. Soon enough though, Sam could sense Andy's nervousness creeping up on her so he took her hand and gave it a squeeze. She turned her head and smiled up at him, and he could literally feel the tension leave her body.

* * *

><p>When they reached his apartment, he unlocked the door and flipped a couple of switches before climbing the stairs to the loft. Andy looked around as she eased the jacket off her shoulders. "So what? You can just turn the cameras off they don't care?"<p>

"I gotta have some kinda life right?" He smiled nervously.

Andy frowned a little; she didn't want to imagine what a life away from her might entail.

Sam tilted his head to catch her eye. "I do it mostly when I want to be alone; sometimes I just want to think without worrying whether or not Boyd's watching me. There are some things he doesn't need to know; things he wouldn't get."

She nodded amazed at how he always seemed to know what she was thinking and how to put her at ease.

"Makes sense." Even without seeing them, it would be weird knowing you were being watched all the time.

Sam cleared his throat. He needed to keep them on track and they were pushing their luck as it was. "I should have probably put you in a cab the second you got back to the Alpine; hell, I should probably put you in one now and get you as far away from here as possible, but… now we need to talk."

"We do."

"Sorry, I dragged you into this."

"You didn't drag me into anything," Andy disagreed. "I'm the one that came back remember?"

Sam furrowed his brow. "Why did you come back?"

Andy wandered further into the room, looking at anything but Sam. "We should probably figure out what we're going to do."

"Andy." He was not going to let her get away without an honest answer; he needed to know.

"I wanted to see you. I was hoping we could…" She blushed as she ran her hand along the surface of the table. "I was hoping we'd come back to your place actually." A small chuckle escaped her lips. "This isn't exactly what I had planned."

Sam grinned. "I'm glad you're here."

"Me too."

"But we can't really... I mean we probably shouldn't…"

"I know." She nodded keeping her disappointment locked on the hardwood floors; it was still in her voice though.

He lifted her chin with his hand so he could look her in the eye. "Doesn't mean I don't want to," he insisted, desperate for her to believe him. "But we're probably pushing our luck enough as it is."

"Yeah…" Andy huffed out a breath, "and knowing my luck..."

Sam chuckled. He knew it all too well and it didn't bode well for them.

They stayed lost in each other's eyes for a few seconds both envisioning what could be happening right now if luck and timing **were **on their side. If only…

Sam finally let his hand fall to his side and Andy reluctantly took a step back. This time he let out a nervous chuckle, having her here so close, it felt painfully good.

"First things first?" She suggested.

Sam nodded and motioned her towards the couch while he went to the fridge to get them each a beer.

Andy sat down and tucked her foot under her leg. The second he handed her the bottle, she took a long pull from it, hoping it would cool her down a little. They'd barely been there five minutes and the cold from their walk was already long forgotten; it felt like the temperature had risen twenty degrees in the last minute alone. She had to resist the urge to roll the bottle against the side of her neck; _maybe they could open a window. _

She cleared her throat. _"_So what do you think? Do I look into the accident?"

"I don't know," Sam answered honestly.

"Could it help your case? I mean what are trying to get him for?" Andy wondered.

"I don't think this has anything to do with my case." Sam really didn't want to go into details; the less she knew about Brennan the better. Still, he knew her well enough to know that she would probably look into Brennan the second she got back whether they decided to help him or not.

"But?"

_Apparently she knew him as well._

Sam smirked. "But… I don't seem to be getting anywhere on my own right now. He seems to have cleaned up his act; not so much as a parking ticket over the last four years. If I don't do something drastic, this could end up being a long, drawn out process and…"

"So just leave," she interrupted. "We can go home right now."

"Andy."

"I'm serious; you said yourself that you wanted out and you've already told Brennan you were thinking about it."

"I can't just leave Andy; I know I said I'd been thinking about it but, without even considering what Brennan will do, you don't just walk away from an undercover without repercussions. If I ever plan on doing any…"

Andy chuckled. "You're making plans now?" She asked skeptically.

Sam grinned back at her. "You know what I mean. Everything you do on this job now affects what you will or won't be able to do in the future. I just have to be sure."

"I get it."

Sam shrugged his shoulders. "Plus, it's gotten a little better; staying doesn't seem so bad right now."

"Why's that?"

"Because I got to see you… because if we decide to… I guess… it won't blow my cover if, you know, I have to see you again."

"Have to?" She taunted.

"Have to. Want to." He winked at her. "Semantics."

Andy got caught in his gaze once again; want was definitely the right word.

It took her a few seconds, but she finally shook herself out of her stupor. "So by drastic… you want me to look into the accident?"

"How do you feel about that?" He didn't want her to do anything she wasn't comfortable with.

"If that's what you need me to do, I'll do it." She insisted; she would always have his back. "But what are you going to tell Boyd?"

"Honestly, I'm not sure I want to tell Boyd anything yet."

Andy's eyebrows shot to the top of her head.

"Are you okay with that?"

"You don't think he'll agree with what we're doing?" She asked, trying to make sense of his logic.

"Well, first off, he's not your biggest fan."

Andy chuckled. _That was an understatement._

"And you're already knee deep in this. I just…" Sam hesitated. The truth was his gut was telling him that something was off. "Let me feel Boyd out first. He didn't tell me he had any concerns about the accident, and I know that it's not really related to Brennan's crimes, but it was the catalyst for bringing me in so… I just want to know what he knows about it first. And…" Sam looked away for a second. "Do you think it's odd that Boyd dropped you off so close to where I was working Brennan?"

The same thought had crossed Andy's mind earlier that evening. For someone who constantly accused her of ruining his operations, he was taking an awfully big chance by putting her anywhere near Sam. "Okay, so no Boyd," she agreed. "But how am I going to look into this on my own? I can't do it during shift; I'll have a partner."

Sam nodded; there's no way she'd be riding solo and they couldn't risk her telling just anyone. But the thought of Andy going off on her own, after shift, wasn't a welcome thought either.

"Just look into it; make some calls. See what you can dig up; see if anything pans out." He looked at her seriously. "But do NOT go off on your own without backup." He wanted her help but if anything happened to her… "Do you hear me?"

"I'll be fine, Sam."

"And?"

She grinned. "And I'll be careful. Scouts honor," she promised with a finger salute.

He shook his head and smirked. "You were never a girl scout."

Her smile widened as she dipped her chin and quirked an eyebrow. "No but I was invited to join this Boy Scout troupe once…" she replied cockily.

"Oh I bet you were," Sam conceded seeing her smile and raising her a set of dimples.

He didn't realize how close they had actually gotten until they stopped talking and he could feel her warm breath against his lips. Sam cleared his throat and moved to stand. If she didn't leave now, he wasn't sure he was going to be able to let her go. He held out his hand to help her up.

She took his offering and allowed him to bring her up beside him, but she didn't let go; she wasn't ready to let go, not yet. He tugged her hand and started leading her towards her jacket and the door. "I'm gonna call you a cab; it's gonna take you back to the station and you're gonna get into your uniform."

She released his hand and took a few steps in the opposite direction, roaming further into the apartment. She turned back to him, her lower lip caught between her teeth. "No." She answered softly taking a few more steps backwards.

Sam started towards her. "Andy, you can't stay here." His resistance sounded weak even to himself.

"It's too early to go back to the barn," she insisted, and then she looked at her watch and called his bluff. "But I guess I could go back out there and see if I can score; I mean there's still time."

Sam was shaking his head before she even finished the thought. "Not by yourself." There was no way he was letting her do that.

"It's what I'm supposed to be doing."

"You always do what you're supposed to do." He countered.

She tilted her head. "Do you?" She challenged, and he tried not to watch as her hand dropped to undo the bottom few buttons of her shirt.

"Andy." He didn't even recognize his own voice; it was supposed to be a warning but it didn't stop **him** from moving towards her.

She waited for him to close the distance between them and then she took another step forward. They weren't touching but she could feel the head emanating from his body. "I thought you didn't have any rules."

Sam knew that would come back to haunt him one day; she never forgot a thing. She may disregard a lot of what he said, but she never forgot. "I have my **own** rules," he explained. "And one of them is that I protect the people I…care about." He looked at her seriously. "This is no joke; us, here, meeting without permission, you could get in serious trouble."

He looked up to the ceiling. _Why did he tell Brennan her name? Why did she have to ingrain herself so far into his life that he couldn't just… he knew better._ "I think maybe when you get back you **should** talk to someone, Jerry, maybe Frank; they can help you. I just… I don't want to get you into trouble. Maybe if we tell them it was a fluke; we just happened to run into each other, and if you go back now..."

"Sam, Sam." She reached out and removed his hand gently from the bridge of his nose. "I'll look into it okay? And I promise if I find anything, I'll get help right away. If I don't find anything…"

Sam flipped his hand to grip hers. "We could be in serious trouble."

She looked him straight in the eye. "But we can't change it now. I'm already here Sam; there's no going back." Her voice lowered to barely a whisper. "And I'm already in trouble." She leaned in to him pausing for a second, waiting.

Sam placed one hand gently on her waist and the other on the side of her face. He closed the remaining distance between them but only hovered over her lips. She tilted her chin up willing him to meet her half way. _Damn it! So was he._

He captured her lips with his, once, twice, each kiss longer and growing in intensity. He slid his hand from her cheek and down her shoulder to the small of her back so he could pull her in closer. He couldn't stop as his hand continued its journey up behind her head so he could angle her in and deepen his kisses even more.

At the same time Andy was exploring as much of Sam as she could; her hands skimming along his chest before coming to rest on either side of his face. _God, he felt good._

Sam broke off abruptly but just long enough to remove his shirt and Andy was having trouble tearing her eyes away from his chest. _He was..._ She trailed her eyes up to meet his and he pulled her back in peppering kisses over her jaw and neck before nuzzling his cheek against hers. She felt, smelled, tasted _God so good_; he couldn't get enough.

He met her lips once more and then searched her eyes; he could see that she wanted this just as much as he did. His gaze dropped down almost shyly and he hastily undid the remaining buttons on her shirt. _He was just… _He grabbed her by the lapels and brought her in close and she couldn't help but smile at him. He lifted her up into his arms and carried her over to the bed fusing their lips together, breaking contact only when he placed her gently against the mattress and his body met hers. Even then, he stopped simply to take a breath before his lips craved contact once again.

Andy lifted her body up and Sam shifted back to accommodate her. He watched as she took the clip from her hair and dropped it unceremoniously to the floor. He wasted no time in sliding her shirt quickly over her shoulders and Andy lifted her arms in turn to help speed the process. The second her arms were clear, Sam tossed the shirt back behind him and leaned back in to capture her lips. _No going back._

* * *

><p>They lay together an hour later with only a light sheet covering their lower bodies. Andy sighed contentedly as she lay against Sam's chest, their legs intertwined. He was drawing random circles on her back.<p>

She lifted her chin and placed it on the back of her hand where it lay rested against him. "Are you sure you'll be okay here? You don't think he suspects you?"

Sam huffed out a breath before shaking his head. "This situation is too crazy not to be true; if he doesn't buy it, he would have to think it's the worst cover story in history."

Andy pulled back in disbelief and almost snorted. "Are you kidding? My one chance to be whoever I want to be and I choose Candace who works in insurance." She rolled her eyes in disappointment.

When she dared a glance back at Sam, his eyes were alight and he dropped his voice almost as if someone might overhear. "Don't tell anybody this, but I was Ernie the Zamboni driver."

Andy giggled and dropped her head back to his chest; he couldn't help but chuckle with her. _God, this girl…_

She looked at him again and the happiness in her eyes was unmistakable. She couldn't resist another quick kiss.

"Seriously though, you did great with Brennan," Sam praised.

"Yeah, it was real tough being myself," she scoffed.

Sam shrugged. "You did have to pretend that you might have been wanting something with me."

Andy pressed her lips together; she could hold back the smile but not the feeling that shone in her eyes. "If you don't know it by now..." She shook her head but held his gaze. "I'm not pretending," she whispered.

"Neither am I," Sam answered on a breath. And he wrapped his forearm around the back of her neck so he could pull her in for another mind numbing kiss and roll her back on top of him.

* * *

><p>Andy woke up hours later; she could feel a warm body next to hers and she smiled as she remembered her night with Sam. She had just snuggled in closer when her eyes snapped open and she bolted upright.<p>

She startled Sam awake and he instinctively shifted towards the nightstand that held his gun. "What? What's wrong?"

"What time is it?" Andy sputtered out in a panic.

Sam rolled back over and picked up his watch holding it close to his face so he could read it. "It's five o'clock," he muttered before grabbing at the covers and sliding back under them.

"How could you let me fall asleep?" She berated, slapping at his arm before scurrying around to look for her clothes.

Sam laughed mockingly as he watched her pull on her jeans. "Let you? Since when do I have any control over what you do? I may have been your TO, but you pretty much do what you want whether I like it or not."

Andy clasped her bra closed before hovering over Sam in the bed, the smirk on her lips just millimeters from his. "Well, thanks for letting me do what I wanted last night," she whispered before giving him one last kiss and quirking a brow, "…whether you liked it or not."

Sam's dimples imploded into his cheeks. Oh, he liked it alright and he was going to show her just how much. She squealed as he tugged one arm out from under her and she landed in a smiling heap on top of him.

"Sam, I have to get my shirt on," she complained halfheartedly.

Sam was nodding in agreement but his hold on her remained strong. "And you have to go," he added breathlessly before pulling her in one more time.

* * *

><p>The ballot for the first ever Rookies Choice Awards will be going up later tonight. You can find it in The Parade area of the forum.<p> 


	6. Chapter 6

Sam opened the door to his loft and walked up the stairs. He went straight to the fridge to grab himself a beer and then he collapsed down onto the couch.

It had been a week since he had seen Andy; a long and extremely tiring week. Had she had enough time to look into it? Would she have any answers? Did he even give a shit? Yes...and no. He really just wanted to see her again.

She didn't have his number; he didn't give it to her. He simply promised to call her; surely it had been long enough. And even if he was reluctant to drag her back into this, he probably wouldn't be able to hold Brennan off much longer anyway.

It started first thing, the morning after he had taken Andy home with him. Brennan had once again called Sam up to his office. Sam could tell that everyone else in the warehouse was shocked; they figured Sam would have been fired by now if he was being called out that many times. But every day he just kept showing up for work; so what could it be and why him?

Sam just shrugged it off. Let them think what they want.

When he sat down in Brennan's office, the Boss looked him up and down. "You look like shit."

Sam tried to contain the smirk that automatically accompanied his answer. "Didn't get much sleep." He wasn't trying to be cocky and he didn't like the implication it made about Andy, but he was just genuinely happy about it and it was hard to hold back.

Brennan shook his head and simply tossed a set of papers in front of him and motioned for him to look at them. Sam recognized them immediately but feigned ignorance. "What is it?"

"Accident Report."

Sam looked at it once again. He had seen it once before, but this time he was looking at it with new eyes. When he first saw the report, he thought it was just a shitty job. But in the new context, it made sense that it could have been a cover up. Sam wondered why he hadn't seen it in the first place but then he chocked it up to being too busy trying to find time and space.

Still there were no reconstruction reports and the witness statements were basically nonexistent. There was definitely something to Brennan's claim, but yet there was a mechanic's report. Not hard to doctor though Sam supposed, if you knew the right people.

"Doesn't look like much," Sam noted.

"No, and like your friend said; there should have been more. I don't know a whole lot about it, but I would think that with two deaths…" Brennan's voice trailed off sorrowfully and Sam waited silently for him to continue.

"Did you, uh, talk about it last night?"

"We did," Sam answered honestly.

"Did she say she would do it or…"

"She said she would start by making some phone calls to see what she could dig up."

Brennan gave a small smile. At least it was a start.

"I'm pretty sure if she finds anything, she'll go for it."

Brennan nodded. "That's good," he said and the relief was evident in his voice.

Once again, Sam was finding it difficult not to sympathize with the man who had lost so much.

"Keep me posted," Brennan ordered, and with that Sam knew he was dismissed.

He had returned to work and Brennan left him alone for the rest of the day, but he couldn't say the same for his co-workers. He had eyes on him all day and it started to annoy him. He had snapped at more than one person that day. Between Brennan's obvious favor for him and his own irritability, he was probably not making any friends. But since he couldn't tell them what was going on, there was really nothing else he could do except tolerate it.

Sam went home that night exhausted; he'd had only a few hours sleep the night before and it was really catching up with him. He planned to reheat some take-out and then sleep till what he hoped was at least noon. Except that night, Boyd had also returned to his regular routine of calling Sam. Made sense, Sam knew he was done with the scavenger hunt.

"_Hey, how'd it go today? Any progress?"_

"I'm trying to work a new angle right now," Sam baited.

"_You going the direct route?"_

"Not exactly."

"_What do you mean? I thought you were going to step it up, get in his face a little more; put yourself on his radar."_

"Yeah, well, all that got me was a warning to clean up or get out."

"_Seriously?"_

"Seriously."

"_What's the new angle then?"_

That was his chance. "Well, you know what happened to his family."

Sam could almost hear Boyd swallowing over the phone before he answered. _"Yeah."_

"You, okay?" Sam asked. "Something wrong?"

"_Uh, no, it's all good,"_ Boyd stuttered out. _"I just had something going on last night so I guess I'm still a little preoccupied."_

Sam's gut was screaming; Boyd knew something. "Yeah, speaking of last night, is that why you didn't call?"

"_Uh, yeah."_

"Another UC?"

"_Something like that…" _Boyd responded evasively_. "Just a one-nighter though, nothing too big."_

"Hmmm. It wasn't around here was it?" Sam fished.

Boyd hesitated and coughed a little. _"How stupid do you think I am?"_

Sam was beginning to wonder; it was either that or devious as hell and Sam was leaning towards the latter. He decided to wait him out.

And it didn't take long for Boyd to crack, obviously uncomfortable with the silence. _"Why do you ask?"_

"Nothing really," Sam responded as casually as possible. "Just thought I saw someone I know, but it didn't make any sense so…"

"_Did you try and talk to them?"_

Boyd almost sounded excited at the prospect. _What the hell? _"No, I figured it couldn't be who I thought it was and even so, I didn't want her to blow my cover, so I just let it go."

"_Hmmm."_

Not much of a response, but waiting him out had worked before so Sam stayed silent.

"_So the new angle?"_

Sam grinned to himself. "Yeah, I thought I'd work the accident angle."

"_What do you mean?"_ The anxiety was back in Boyd's voice.

"I'm just saying he got out of the life when he started his family. Now that they're gone, there really isn't any motivation for him to stay clean. I figure if I point that out…"

"_That could work I guess,"_ Boyd conceded but he didn't sound convinced.

Sam decided he'd heard enough; he didn't want to alert Boyd any more than he already had, and there was no way he was telling him anything else at this point. "Listen, I'm pretty tired so…"

"_Late night for you Sammy?"_ Boyd leered. _"Boys told me you shut off the cameras. You bring something home with you last night?"_

Sam grimaced at how crude Boyd could be. "Just trying to work out the details, needed to think in peace," Sam fudged.

"_Too bad."_ Boyd replied. _"Talk to you tomorrow?"_

"Know what? Give me a few days," Sam suggested. "There's really no sense calling every night, besides I'm off for the weekend so... if I get anything, I'll let you know."

"_You sure, Sammy?"_

"Yep."

And with that Sam had simply hung up.

The next few days had passed slowly after that. Sam spent most of his time worrying and wondering how Andy was doing. He wanted to call her, every night in fact, but he couldn't rush her, didn't want to put pressure on her.

He was starting to feel the pressure from Brennan though. He had left Sam alone for the first few days too but as time passed, Sam felt his eyes on him more and more often. Finally, at the end of the day today, Brennan approached Sam in the parking lot. It was Friday and Sam wouldn't be seeing him for a couple of days.

"Any news?" Brennan wondered.

"I, uh, no. I'm thinking I'll give her a call tonight though, just to see how it's going," Sam offered.

"She hasn't called you?"

"She didn't ask for my number so…"

Brennan pondered that for a second, wondered if that was a bad sign.

"We were busy… uh, catching up." Again, Sam was having trouble containing his smile.

Brennan cleared his throat; he really hoped she wasn't just a conquest for JD. The girl was nice and deserved better. "But you can get hold of her?" He asked, choosing to avoid the innuendo.

"Yeah, I uh got the number off her phone when…" Sam knew what he was implying but he couldn't really tell Brennan that he'd memorized her number almost two years ago.

"Careful," Brennan warned. "She's looking for someone on the up and up, remember?"

"Don't worry," Sam assured him. "I got it."

Brennan walked away, hoping JD was going to do this right… for both of them.

Sam had now been sitting on the couch phone in hand for over an hour. Two empty beer bottles sat on the coffee table next to the remnants of a supper he had thrown together. A week had to have been long enough; it was definitely long enough for him. He just…

The phone was ringing. Then he could hear the sounds of laughter and music in the background.

"Hey."

She couldn't hear him. He probably should have waited and called her in the morning; there was no way she was going to be able to talk to him now.

"It's…" _Shit! The cameras are still on. _"JD. I…"

He didn't even get the rest of his sentence out before he heard her excited voice, _"I'm leaving right now."_

Sam had been pacing for half an hour before he ran down to shut off the cameras. He didn't want Boyd's team catching anything and he knew they'd probably draw their own conclusions from the phone call, but he didn't care.

It wasn't long after that when he heard a knock at his door. He jumped down the stairs not wanting her to wait out there too long and it had nothing to do with the cold. He pulled her in as soon as the door was open and he could see the rosy glow on her cheeks. She was rubbing her hands together.

"Hey," she smiled.

"Hey," Sam dimpled back. "I didn't expect you to come right over, I…" He wanted her too for sure, but he didn't want her to think that he just expected her to drop everything and rush over there.

"Oh," Andy responded, a bit taken aback. "I just… it's okay; isn't it?"

Sam pulled one of her mittens off and took her hand to lead her up the stairs. He looked at her softly. "Of course it's okay." He could tell he had worried her with his greeting. "Andy, it's fine. I'm glad you're here; I just didn't want you to think you had to jump as soon as I called."

"No, I didn't think that. I just…" Andy was looking down at their hands.

"I wanted to see you too," Sam affirmed.

Andy's head snapped up and she grinned. Sam tugged on her arm and she followed him up the stairs. She shivered when he helped her off with her jacket.

"Coffee? Beer?"

"Do you have any hot chocolate?" She asked hopefully.

Sam had no idea what they had stocked the place with originally; he knew he hadn't bought any. He went to the cupboard, looked back and smiled as he saw Andy circling the wood stove.

"Switch is on the wall by the bed," Sam instructed.

He saw her smirk again and practically skip to the wall. When he didn't hear the stove start up, he turned around to make sure she found what she needed. He watched as she was paused looking at the bed and he could see the shy smile on her face.

He grinned to himself as he filled the kettle and plugged it in. He had good memories too. "You find it?" He prompted.

"Huh? Oh yeah. I got it." She mumbled flipping the switch.

"So you were at the Penny? You off tomorrow or…"

Andy nodded in response to his first question and then filled in the blank. "I was supposed to be on early, but I took the day off to finalize my mortgage."

"Hmmm." Sam frowned at the reminder that life was going on without him.

While the water heated up, he continued to watch Andy as she wandered up to the fireplace, rubbing her hands over it, lifting her feet up to it. He just… it was nice to have her there.

She was quiet though and surprisingly he missed her chatter.

"So…"

Andy looked up at him.

Her wide-eyed gaze caught him off guard. "I don't have marshmallows," he blurted, not really knowing what else to say.

She grinned at him. "That's okay."

He picked up the cup and handed it to her, letting his fingers graze against hers before he let go and she shivered again.

"Still cold?"

"Just a little."

He wanted to just pull her into his arms and warm them both up, but he knew that if he did that, they probably wouldn't discuss much of anything. She did have the day off though. Sam shook his head; _she couldn't stay. He knew better than that._

"You, uh, want to sit down?" He said gesturing towards the couch.

"Can we sit over here?" She asked, looking pointedly at the stove.

"Sure," Sam agreed easily.

He looked around; he didn't really want to pull the chairs over. _Ah-ha. _He flipped the comforter off the end of the bed and laid it on the floor for a little cushioning. He then grabbed the pillows and leaned them back on the edge of the mattresses sitting down with his back against one of them and his legs stretched out towards the stove. He reached his hand out to Andy. "Come here."

Andy sat down next to Sam and he pulled her in close with his other arm. "Better?" He asked softly.

She turned her head and he was so close. It had been too long since she had last looked into those eyes. "Much," she whispered back.

They were locked in each other's gaze and both started leaning forward unconsciously. Sam's free hand automatically moved up to her cheek as he guided her in. Her lips were as soft as he remembered them and it felt so good to have her in his arms again; his grip automatically tightened around her waist.

Andy moaned in pleasure as Sam continued to kiss her. She opened her mouth against his before he even had a chance to ask, but he didn't hesitate in taking advantage wanting to taste more of her. _God, he just… wanted._

Out of breath, Andy finally pulled away and they both looked into each other's eyes panting. Andy started to giggle self consciously. "Maybe we should just…"

Sam smirked back at her and shifted his body over a few inches leaving a visible space in between them. "Yeah."

Despite the heat being generated by the stove and their recent activities, Andy couldn't help but miss the warmth of Sam's body. She sighed.

Sam winked at her and then took a breath trying to calm his racing heart and will the blood flow back to his brain.

Andy reached out her hand and Sam immediately laced their fingers together; at least it was something.

"How'd it go?"

Andy shook her head and glanced at him quickly. "I don't think you're going to like it."

Sam huffed out a breath; as usual, his gut was right. "What did you find?"

"I made it in on time the next morning, barely." She grinned a little at the memory of why she was late.

"Andy."

"Sorry." But the smirk on her face showed different. "Anyway, I didn't want to waste any time so before shift, I pulled the accident file for Brennan's family, to see if it was as bad as he thought."

"It was," Sam stated knowingly.

"How did you…"

"Brennan showed me it again," he explained.

"So you know then, it was… well you saw it; there was nothing there. That's when I knew I couldn't leave it at that. I mean it could have been just a crappy job, but I… something wasn't right."

Sam smiled at her; she was finally starting to trust her gut.

"There were a few minutes before parade so I went to talk to Jerry like you suggested. He wasn't very happy with me."

"What did you tell him?"

"I asked him to trust me. Told him that you needed a favor and could he please detail me to him that morning. He looked pretty shocked, but he agreed, after he made me promise to tell him everything when I got back. He also made me promise I wasn't going to do anything stupid," she went on, rolling her eyes.

Sam ignored her aggravation; happy for the reminder of what he had already told her. "What did you do?"

"The only thing I could do," she answered with a shrug. "I called Thirty-Four Division to see if the officer was still there and she was. I drove out to the division and tracked her down; she had just made detective. I showed her the accident report and asked if it was her. She said it was but didn't offer much except that the case was closed. When I asked her why so much was missing, she was pretty defensive at first; couldn't believe I would just storm in there and demand information from 'my superior'."

Sam smirked at the thought of Andy going in guns blazing.

"She basically said that there if a detective tells you to do something, you do it no questions asked. She claimed she did everything right, had two eyewitnesses that saw a guy nosing around the car before it crashed. Even said the reconstruction guys came in and that their best mechanic worked on it."

Sam furrowed his brow; _none of that was in the report._

Andy noticed his confusion. "I know; none of it was in there. Wanna know why?"

Sam tilted his chin down waiting. He really hoped that was a rhetorical question.

It was. "She said some detective showed up, handed it back to her and it was scrubbed. No notes, different mechanic; he told her to sign off. I couldn't believe she would just do it; someone was killed." Andy was incredulous. "When I called her on it, I thought she was going to walk away from me."

"Did she?"

"Yes, but she said she was just going to get her notes; she kept them, said she knew it would come back on her one day. She had everything, witness names, license plate of the guy they saw by the car, name of the mechanic who ended up signing off. But what I really wanted to know was who the detective was, the one that made it go away. She didn't want to say, but I think she knew I wasn't going to leave without it."

"Boyd," Sam guessed with little doubt in his voice.

Andy nodded. "Yep."

Sam's eyes widened; it was worse than he thought. "Did you tell Jerry?"

"I had just gotten back from Thirty-Four; I had a copy of everything. I wanted to show Jerry right away so I headed to his office, but you'll never guess who beat me there."

"Boyd," Sam answered once again.

"Yeah, he was already in there yelling at Jerry. Trying to find out what I was doing for him today."

"How did he… what happened?"

"I didn't even make it to the door before he saw me and threw it open."

_Flashback_

"_Swarek told you what he was doing didn't he?"_

"_What?" Andy furrowed her brow and turned to see Jerry looking at her accusingly as well. "No!"_

"_What the hell are you doing pulling Brennan's accident file then? What did Swarek tell you before he left?"_

"_He didn't tell me anything before he left." Andy knew she was a terrible liar so she was thankful that she could keep it at least a little real._

"_Bull shit!"_

"_Think what you want, Boyd, but all I knew is that he was leaving in three weeks and the next day he was gone." _

_She glared at the detective._

"_Then how do you know about Brennan?"_

"_Who?"_

"_Brennan, you pulled the file on his wife and kid's accident."_

_She looked at Jerry; her eyes imploring him to help her. "Does this have to do with Sam's undercover?" She asked Jerry innocently._

_Jerry looked at Boyd in disbelief. "You got Sammy working Brennan?"_

_Andy didn't like the way Jerry sounded when he said Brennan. She vowed to search more up about him the second she had the chance. "Who's Brennan?"_

_Boyd looked at them both. "What are you two playing at here?"_

_Knowing Andy's skills at lying or lack thereof, Jerry decided it was better left up to him. He wanted Boyd out of there anyway and she promised him answers, which he was going to get._

"_I got a call from HQ," Jerry fibbed easily. "They were asked by the mayor to pull some statistics regarding accidents with fatalities. I asked Andy to pull some information for me; I had a bunch of divisions I was supposed to cover."_

"_What did they want?" Boyd asked skeptically.  
><em>

"_Just the basics, you know locations, ages of victims, time of day. I guess they were looking for trends or something."_

_Boyd still looked a little doubtful, but Jerry was pretty convincing so he just grumbled something under his breath and left._

_As soon as he walked out, Jerry shut the door behind him. "Care to tell me why I just lied to a fellow detective."_

_End Flashback_

"So I told Jerry what I found at Thirty-Four; showed him the accident file and the proper case notes. And as soon as I told him the name of the guy from the license plate, he said everything was starting to make sense."

"What was starting to make sense?" Sam wondered. "Who was it?"

"Shawn Elmore belongs to the JMC."

Sam nodded; he recognized the name immediately. Guy definitely had a beef with Brennan but why would Boyd…

Andy answered the question before he had a chance to ask. "Apparently there's been a lot of talk lately about how Boyd has made some serious headway into the bikers. He knows where, he knows when, he knows who. Before it's even happening; he knows what's happened."

"Informant," Sam assumed.

"He denies he has an informant and hasn't carded anyone."

This wasn't looking good. "Elmore," Sam huffed out shaking his head. "So then what?"

"Jerry had to finish up on another case. He arranged for me to work with him at least half days for the following week till we figured it out. Tuesday we went to find Elmore and bring him in."

"And?"

"At first he claimed not to know Boyd, but then Jerry called his bluff. Told him he would talk to his guys to find out how Guns and Gangs knew so much about what they've been doing the last little while."

"So you got Elmore?"

"Yes, he's been charged already but they've kept it under wraps. Nothing in the system yet; they didn't want Boyd to find out."

"So what's happening with Boyd then?"

"It's not looking good for him either," Andy explained. "Jerry's been dealing with IA the last few days and putting together the case. As far as we can tell, Boyd doesn't know anything's happening and I hope it stays that way."

She looked at Sam. "I think they're going to pull you out. Maybe even by Monday. Jerry thinks he'll have everything he needs by then."

"What about Brennan?"

"You said it yourself; he's out of the life," Andy shrugged.

"I know, but I just… he hurt a lot of people."

Andy moved her other hand to cover their joined ones. She didn't tell Sam that she had spent the last few days learning everything she could about Brennan. She knew he had hurt a lot of people, but right now her only concern was that he not hurt Sam. "I know, but with everything that happened; they just don't think now's the time. It's too big of a risk."

Sam nodded but stayed quiet. He looked down at their hands, lost in his thoughts. It made sense, but still he was disappointed that he wouldn't get justice for Brennan's victims.

When he felt Andy's hand squeeze his, he was brought out of his reverie. He gave her a soft smile. "So, you've known for a few days now."

"Yeah." She met his eyes and mirrored his smile. "But it's been a really long week," she admitted timidly and he knew she wasn't talking about the case anymore.

Sam's gaze locked on hers. "I missed you."

And just like that the mood started to shift… from business to pleasure. Sam's thumb began to move of its own accord, gliding tenderly across the back of her hand.

"Sam," Andy whispered breathlessly.

Sam tugged on her hand and tilted his head toward the bed where he knew they would be more comfortable. "Come on."

Andy shook her head, instead tugging him back towards her. She lifted the pillows away from the edge of the bed and set them on floor near the fireplace before she laid her head against one of them and urged Sam along with her. He grinned and followed her willingly, not stopping until his body was pressed against hers on the floor.

And it wasn't long before clothes were discarded and set aside along with all thoughts of the case and anything outside the feel of each other.

* * *

><p>Hours later, Andy was lying on the floor with a sheet draped loosely over her body and her feet propped up against the end of the bed. She had been telling Sam all about karaoke night when he ambled behind her over to the kitchen. "Almost makes me wish I was there," he declared.<p>

"Yeah, what would you sing?" She wondered.

After drinking straight from the tap, he turned off the water, swallowed and cleared his throat. He wiped his hand over his mouth as he thought. "Stuck in the Middle with You," he taunted a slight smirk on his face.

"Stuck in the Middle with you; that's nice," she scoffed tilting her head back so she could see him.

"No, Love the One You're With," he countered as he knelt down behind her head.

"How about All by Myself?" Andy offered as Sam leaned down onto his hands and hovered over her.

He shook his head as he closed the distance between them. "No, you're not," he disputed kissing her soundly.

"You will be," she giggled against his lips.

Sam chuckled lightly without breaking contact. "You're so thoughtful," he whispered sarcastically, and then he rolled away lying his head down beside her with his body sprawled in the opposite direction. "Thanks."

He shuffled to get comfortable; this floor was doing nothing for his back. "I'm kidding; I wouldn't sing."

"I know you wouldn't," Andy agreed turning her head so she could look at him. "You're too cool."

"Hey I do a lot of things all right? I cook, I clean." He defended. "I'm good with tools, I'm an excellent driver."

Andy sighed. "You ever wish we were normal."

Sam furrowed his brow but he wasn't ready to look at her. "What do you mean we are normal?"

"You know what I mean," she insisted looking at the ceiling.

Sam swallowed hard. "Andy, if I could ask you to stay I would."

She turned then to finally look at him. "Then ask me to stay," she pleaded.

He rolled his head to look at her.

"Brennan knows about me, and Jerry knows we're talking," Andy justified. "Just one night, you know, I'll go home in the morning."

Sam looked back up at the ceiling contemplating; it sounded like the op was going to be over anyway and maybe, just maybe they could go home together.

Sam rolled onto his stomach leaning on his forearm above her. They locked eyes. "Stay." Sam whispered.

"Okay," Andy breathed out as he dipped his head down, touching his nose softly against hers before kissing her thoroughly.

* * *

><p>When Andy woke the next morning the sun was shining through the window and she was tucked comfortably under the covers next to Sam. Last night after kissing her breathless, Sam suggested they move to the bed insisting that he was a gentleman and that when he asked her to stay he did not mean on a cold, hard floor.<p>

Andy had taunted back about his body not being able to take it, but ended up squealing when he snatched her up off the floor and dropped her onto the bed promising to show her just what his body could take. And she had been happy to give.

She couldn't help but smile at the memory and she started to snuggle back in hoping to enjoy it just a little while longer. She had just started to drift off when her eyes snapped open; she brought her watch up to her face to check the time.

_Shoot! _Her appointment was in just over two hours; she was going to have to hurry if she wanted to make it home to shower and change. She was just pushing herself up to look for her clothes when Sam woke up. "Where do you think you're going?" Sam accused, reaching for her wrist.

"I need to find my clothes."

"No, you don't," he challenged pulling her back towards him and leaning in for a kiss.

She indulged him for a few seconds until he rolled her under him and tried to deepen the kiss. "Sam," she warned, but he simply redirected his attack to her jaw and neck. She knew her resolve was weakening and she felt him smirk against her skin; he could feel it too.

"Sam, I can't," she insisted forcing herself to stiffen.

Sam let her go and blew out a frustrated breath as he flopped back onto the bed. "Why not?"

"I have to go," she explained slipping on her bra and panties while he slid on his underwear.

"You, uh, working the afternoon shift?" He wondered as he pulled on his own pants.

She drew her head out from under the bed. "No, I already told you; I took the day off to finalize my mortgage."

"Right, right," Sam recalled. "So, uh, which one did you buy?"

"Oh, you know the one on the corner, with all the windows," she described finally locating her pants.

"Yeah, I remember; it's beautiful," Sam approved solemnly, once again disappointed by the subtle reminder that life had been moving on without him.

Andy could hear the regret in his voice and swiveled on her feet. "Come with me," she insisted. "They're taking you out anyway; let's just save them the trouble."

"Andy, I…" Truthfully he was torn, but he didn't get a chance to mull it over for long.

There was a knock at the door. Andy turned towards the sound and then back to Sam, but he looked just as surprised as she was. He backtracked to the night stand and readied his gun. "Yuh?" He barked to the intruder.

A muffled voice responded. "It's Brennan; I brought coffee."

The alarm in Andy's eyes was mirrored in Sam's. _Damn it! They didn't talk about what they were going to tell Brennan._

* * *

><p>I really loved that morning scene with the juice, the SamJD comparison and the ice cream discussion, but it really didn't make sense in this context. Andy has already met Brennan and even though she didn't say, Sam would realize that she knew all about him by now so those worries were no longer there… of course that doesn't mean there isn't anything else to worry about.

And how many of you now want to check out that morning after scene once again? I know there are different theories as to what Sam said to Andy after she told him he would be (all by himself), but I like this one of mamaverd's.

Thanks, SairsJ!


	7. Chapter 7

A muffled voice responded. "It's Brennan; I brought coffee."

The alarm in Andy's eyes was mirrored in Sam's. _Damn it! They didn't talk about what they were going to tell Brennan._

Andy looked to Sam begging silently for direction; _what the hell were they supposed to do now?_ He held up his hand for her to hang on and he set the gun back in the drawer.

"JD, come on, open the door," Brennan insisted from below.

Sam walked purposefully towards the entry doing up his belt as he passed by Andy; he turned to look back when he reached the top of the stairs. She threw her hands out, her eyes again pleading for some sort of instruction. _This was his specialty; he had to know what to do._ He shrugged his shoulders and mirrored her flailing hands, the message clear. _I don't know. I have no idea._

She watched him disappear behind the wall leading down to the stairs and immediately her heart started to pick up speed. She looked around the room for something, anything. Panic was starting to set in. She couldn't do this; she was a planner. She needed to know the plan.

That wasn't going to happen though; this time it was up to her to come up with the plan. No one was going to give it to her.

She took a deep breath. _Okay. What does she know? Brennan has seen them together before so it won't be a shock. He'll probably even be happy she's there, but then he'll want answers. Shit. She has no idea if she's even allowed to tell him anything. She's not ready; she's not ready._

Andy could hear them making their way up the stairs so she high tailed it to the bathroom to buy herself some time. She closed the door quietly and then splashed some water on her face to try and calm herself down. She was taking another deep breath when she heard voices getting closer. She raised her eyes to the ceiling and on the back of the door, she spotted JD's bathrobe. _Just make a decision and stick with it. Okay, she could do this._ She started to undress as she listened to their muffled voices in the living room. _But when should she go out?_

"Nice place," Brennan commented as he wandered around the loft.

"Thanks," Sam responded swallowing a drink of the coffee Brennan had given him. He looked around the room but didn't see Andy anywhere.

"Ooh, Moby Dick, impressive," Brennan noted, picking the book up off the dresser.

Sam leaned against the wall, somewhat amused by the impromptu inspection. "Not really, helps put me to sleep."

"Hey you know what's funny," Brennan continued turning around and pointing across the room. "I got that same lamp."

Sam turned his body to locate the light as Brennan walked towards it. Sam chuckled, "Is that why you're here Boss, to compare home furnishings?"

"No, I'm here to…" Brennan paused trying to compose himself. "You said you were going to call Andy; I was just wondering if you had a chance to talk to her yet."

Sam wasn't sure how to respond. _Andy wasn't making her presence known and Brennan had no idea she was even there; maybe he should just put him off for a bit at least until they had time to decide what to do._

"I, uh, headed home last night and I was…"

The sentence stuck in his throat as he watched Brennan crouch down and pick a boot up off the floor. He tossed the boot that clearly belonged to a woman back at Sam.

Brennan had probably put a little more force than was necessary behind the throw, but he was trying to reign in his anger. _This was why he liked doing things himself; other people screwed up. He was this close to finally getting his answers and JD could screw it up for him with one stupid move. But he wouldn't do that to Andy; would he? He thought he cared about her but maybe he read it wrong. The guy __**was**__ a player._ "Am I interrupting something?"

"Huh? Yeah, I uh…"

"Just tell me it's her."

Sam was again amazed that Brennan actually cared whether or not he treated Andy right. He obviously wanted something from her but it looked like he genuinely didn't want to see her hurt either.

Brennan looked Sam straight in the eye. "I told you before she's looking for a stand up guy. If you can't be that, just give me her number. You know; I'll take care of it from here. I mean…" he shook his head, "it's bad enough I'm hearing the rumors around the warehouse."

"Rumors?" Sam was confused.

"Yeah, guys say you can get just about anything you want. How is that possible?"

Sam was caught off guard; he hadn't been pushing that angle for over a week. It was obvious that his initial strategy was coming back to haunt him and if he had to venture a guess, some of his co-workers were starting to resent Brennan's interest in him.

"It's not like that Boss; I told you I wouldn't," Sam stammered. "I got a boat…"

Andy's eyes widened. Jerry had given her the file for Sam's cover at the beginning of the week; there had been a boat listed on there and the name of it felt vaguely familiar. She couldn't remember from where but when she looked into it she immediately knew why. It had been in the news right around the time she was in the academy; they had even talked about it in one of her classes. It was seized in a high profile drug bust and if she could recognize it, there was nothing to say Brennan wouldn't either. She had warned Jerry about it immediately and he had added it to the growing list of Boyd's indiscretions. _She had to get out there now._

"Hey, Babe," she beckoned lifting her hair and fitting it into an elastic. "I didn't know you had a boat."

Brennan visibly relaxed knowing that his plans were still on track and JD hadn't gone behind Andy's back.

"Yeah, I…" Sam tried to explain, but Andy wasn't about to let him. He looked at her in confusion as she started to babble.

"You know my dad wanted to get a boat. I thought it was crazy; he'd never owned one in his life. But his buddy calls him up one day and says there's one coming up in the police auction. My dad loves those things, goes to them all the time. Anyway his buddy tells him this boat is going to go for a steal; I guess my dad had told him years ago that he wished he had one."

Sam opened his mouth to intervene, but she still wasn't having it, pausing only long enough to take a breath. "So anyway, guy tells my dad about this boat and he tells me he's going to go bid on it. Oh what was the name of the boat?" She posed seemingly to herself.

"Grace… no God's Good Grace that's it!" She exclaimed in mock satisfaction.

Andy watched the eyes of both men widen marginally at her revelation, each for very different reasons. She was glad she trusted her gut on this one and was anxious to prove her theory. "Yeah, apparently it was seized in some high profile drug case, some guy named…"

"Wayne," Brennan supplied.

Andy looked at him in feigned surprise. "Yeah, how'd you know? Did you read about it in the paper?"

He had actually done business with the guy but he wasn't giving that away. "Yeah, I'm pretty sure it was in all the papers."

"Yeah, I think so too," Andy agreed. "I had remembered the name as soon as I saw it so I checked it out when I got to work the next day. I didn't like the idea though; I mean who knows what went on, on that boat. From what I could tell, the guy was pretty ruthless He could have tortured people on it, maybe even thrown a few bodies off the side of it. You know cement shoes and all…"

Sam was completely relieved but he was also wishing Andy would slow down a little; she had done what she set out to do and for that he was grateful. If he had told Brennan he owned the boat, he likely would have been made. But sometimes less was more and now was one of those times. He thought she was starting to push her luck with the last comment but then Brennan started to chuckle. Sam shook his head; she really had charmed him.

"Yeah, you never know," Brennan agreed.

"Anyway, he didn't end up winning it so it didn't matter." She turned to Sam and could see the relief in his eyes. She winked at him. "So you have a boat."

Sam chuckled himself. "I'm pretty sure the Boss didn't come here to talk about my boat."

"No, no I didn't," Brennan agreed still smiling. "But I am glad you're here," he told Andy.

"You are?" She grinned, her happy demeanor belying the fear lingering just below the surface.

She felt Sam slide his hand into hers, pulling her back towards him. She leaned her body against his thankful for the support he was giving her. He did have an ulterior motive though as he preferred keeping her close when Brennan was right there.

"I am," Brennan confirmed. "I actually came to ask JD if he'd heard from you."

"Oh, yeah?"

Brennan watched her face fall for a second before she recovered. "You found something didn't you?" He presumed.

"Can we sit down?" Andy suggested.

"Sure, of course," Sam agreed leading her over to the couch. He motioned for his boss to take the chair beside it.

"So…" Brennan tilted his head trying to meet Andy's eye.

"You want me to…" Sam volunteered gripping her hand tightly.

"No, it's okay," Andy assured him. As much as she would love to defer to his judgment, it would make more sense if the story came from her.

She looked at Jamie. "You want something to drink?"

He held up his cup and gave her an indulgent smile.

"Right," she said, bringing her fingers to her mouth and chewing at a nail. Her mouth dried up immediately and she cleared her throat.

"Can I get you something?" Sam offered.

"I'm sorry," Jamie apologized gesturing to the coffee. "I didn't realize."

"It's fine," she said with a nod.

Sam had already stood though and he called out to her as he made his way to the fridge. "Grapefruit or cranberry?"

"Do you have orange juice?"

He should have known she wouldn't make it easy. He pulled out two containers, tossing out the red one that was practically empty. "Grapefruit," he decided pouring some out for her.

He brought her over a glass and she picked it up and took a long drink. Sam grabbed her free hand and held it against his thigh, giving it a squeeze of encouragement.

She looked up at Jamie who she could see was getting anxious.

"So, I went back home the next morning." She blushed when she realized that was probably too much information. Sam just chuckled.

She cleared her throat and started again. "Yeah, so I uh made it back from the scavenger hunt. Didn't win by the way? I still haven't figured out how…"

"Andy…" Sam prompted.

"Right, sorry. I had to work that day, but I asked a detective friend to cover for me so I could start looking into it. I got on the computer as soon as I could and pulled up the files."

"Files?" Brennan asked suspiciously.

She looked him in the eye. "You don't have a very good reputation," she offered in reply.

Brennan straightened in his seat. "Are you trying to tell me that my family doesn't deserve justice?"

Andy's eyes softened a little. "I didn't say that."

"But you looked into me too," he stated.

She huffed out a breath. "It was kind of hard not to. The second I keyed in the name Brennan, red flags went up all over the place."

_He should have known better than to trust a cop. _He pressed his lips together trying to contain his anger. "Did you change your mind?"

"What do you mean?"

He shut down all of his emotions and simply stared at her. "I know what I've been accused of; I know what you saw."

All Sam could do was look on as Andy responded. "I'm not going to lie; I don't like what you did."

"Allegedly did," he defended. "I wasn't charged with anything."

Andy looked back at him, her gaze never faltering. "I realize that, but that doesn't mean…"

Sam coughed loudly to get the attention off Andy. When they both reluctantly turned to him, Sam kept his eyes focused on Andy, silently urging her to drop it. "I don't think we're going to get anywhere this way. Could we just stick to the accident for now, and uh…"

"JD's right," Brennan agreed easily.

Andy nodded curtly before she turned back to Jamie. "So I pulled the accident file and you were right; there wasn't much there. It didn't happen in our division though so I had to call over, but the officer who was in charge of the investigation still worked there. So I went over and talked to her," Andy explained.

"She the one that covered it up?" Brennan accused.

Andy definitely wasn't ready to get into that if she could avoid it so she simply ignored the question. "She helped me out, gave me some of her original notes so I was able to track down a suspect."

His eyes widened. "You, uh," he swallowed hard. "You know who did it?"

Andy gave him a soft smile. "We have someone in custody, yes."

His face hardened. "Who is it?"

"I can't tell you that right…"

He chuckled humorlessly. "Why not?" He posed quietly and the effect was more ominous than if he had yelled at her.

"I'm sorry, but I didn't expect to see you here," she justified. "I've probably told you more than I should already."

"You expect me to just be happy with that?"

"No, I understand…" She reached her hand out to touch his arm.

He pulled back quickly shaking his head. "You don't understand."

Andy nodded sadly. "You're right; I don't, not exactly, but that doesn't change what I can and can't do for you."

Sam was beginning to second guess Andy's decision for showing herself; he would much rather be in the line of fire than her. He knew Brennan's history and was worried that the man might lose it, and Sam's gun was still over in the night stand.

"You just have to be patient," Andy instructed.

"Patient?" Brennan huffed out, incredulous. "We're talking about my family here."

"I'm sorry," she tried again. "But you're absolutely right; you are the next of kin so they're obligated to tell you what's going on. I'm just not sure…"

He jumped up. "I'm going in."

Andy started to panic; they would barely have enough time to warn Jerry and they had no idea what he would or wouldn't do.

"You can't," Sam blurted.

Brennan turned on him. "Why the hell not?"

"They're going to know she told you."

"I don't care; they owe it to me."

Sam looked him square in the eye. "And you owe it to her."

The words resonated with Jamie; despite her reservations about him, she had still looked for justice for his family and he tried to tell himself that he couldn't ignore that.

Andy took advantage of his momentary calm. "I will find out for you, okay? Please trust me; I will make sure they let you know soon."

Jamie blew out a deep breath and reminded himself that she hadn't let him down so far. "It was my past wasn't it?" He inquired softly more to himself than anyone. "It came back."

Andy watched all the bravado leave his body as the realization hit him. Yes, he had wanted answers but sometimes you have to be careful what you wish for. And in this moment, it looked like Jamie got more than he bargained for.

She couldn't forget the kind of man he was, but it was also hard to ignore the man he had seemingly become. The man who loved his family beyond all reason, and she couldn't fault him for that. In fact, she knew firsthand just how losing that felt.

"I did some terrible things," he continued wearily wringing his hands in his lap.

Sam and Andy exchanged a look of wide eyed surprise and the grip on each other tightened. _Was it too much to hope that they could get a confession out of this?_

"They paid the price and all they ever did was love me," he finished quietly. He then shrugged his shoulders and moved to stand. "You two have fun today; I gotta go."

Sam didn't know what else to do so he just nodded. "Okay, see ya," Andy responded, more than happy to have him leave.

Sam stood up to walk him out and extended his hand. "Thanks for dropping by Boss."

Brennan pulled Sam into a brief man hug and patted his shoulder. "Yeah we'll talk later," he claimed, his eyes locked on Andy.

She offered him a small smile and a nod and then waited anxiously as Sam watched the man descend the stairs.

The second she heard the door close she bolted from her seat and put down her glass. "Okay, this is really bad. I gotta get out of here. I gotta go. I gotta tell Jerry…"

Sam held up his hands in front of him urging her to slow down. She started to back away until he gripped her upper arms and spoke quietly trying to impart some calm. "Not for another fifteen minutes okay?"

"Fifteen minutes? Why?" Andy inquired, clearly still panicked.

Sam maintained his hold on her and continued to speak softly. "Because… we have to make sure he's gone. Do you understand?"

He let go of her briefly when he turned to look behind him giving her a glimpse of the small crack in his cool demeanor.

It was enough to have her flailing again, shrugging her shoulders and throwing her hands out to the side. "Are you sure fifteen minutes is even enough, huh?"

Sam latched onto her arms again and turned her around; he was now looking worriedly toward the door. "Uh…" he looked back at Andy and his eyes started to light up as an idea began to form. "Maybe twenty?" He suggested chuckling nervously as he backed them both up towards the bed.

"What?" Andy giggled, a little surprised but definitely not unwilling.

* * *

><p>Andy walked out of Sam's building with a smile on her face and bounce in her step. Those twenty minutes turned into thirty but Andy definitely was not complaining. When Brennan showed up, she'd already resigned herself to the fact that she wasn't making her mortgage meeting. And getting that extra half hour with Sam had been a worthy compensation.<p>

She pulled on her mittens as she walked towards the bus stop completely unable to stop grinning. A car started up a bit behind her but she was too caught up in her own bliss to notice anything. She had just reached the corner of the building when someone stepped out in front of her.

"You owe me some answers," he growled grabbing tightly on to her arm and pulling her forward.

Andy's eyes widened in surprise. _He was not supposed to be here._

She planted her feet and was trying to pry herself away from his grip when a car pulled up beside them. The door opened to the street and the driver stepped out. "Is everything okay here?"

* * *

><p>Thanks as always to SairsJ.<p>

The 'maybe twenty' moment has got to be one of my absolute favorites from the entire season. It was an absolute must to be included.

Remember to send in your nominations for the Rookie's Choice awards; all it takes is a PM. If you go to the Parade section of the forum and go to the Nomination Ballot post you will find a listing of all the categories; at the end, there is a post showing you where to send your PMs. You have until June 1st to get them in.


	8. Chapter 8

Here it is... the next chapter. I hope you continue to enjoy it.

Thanks as always to SairsJ for her second set of eyes.

* * *

><p>She pulled on her mittens as she walked towards the bus stop completely unable to stop grinning. A car started up a bit behind her but she was too caught up in her own bliss to notice anything. She had just reached the corner of the building when someone stepped out in front of her.<p>

"You owe me some answers," he growled grabbing tightly on to her arm and pulling her forward.

Andy's eyes widened in surprise. _He was not supposed to be here._

She planted her feet and was trying to pry herself away from his grip when a car pulled up beside them. The door opened to the street and the driver stepped out. "Is everything okay here?"

Andy immediately recognized the voice and she froze allowing her captor to gain the advantage and tug her further towards him. He pasted on a fake smile and turned to the vehicle ready to appease the Good Samaritan. His eyes widened marginally as the driver shut the door and leaned over the top of the vehicle. _Shit! _

"No problem, here. Just playing around, you know?"

"Really? Cause the lady doesn't look like she's having a lot of fun."

"She's fine. Just competitive is all, doesn't like it when she doesn't get her way. Isn't that right sweetheart?"

Andy flinched at the false endearment. She didn't want to play this game and he wasn't going to buy it anyway. But that wasn't her biggest problem. No, her biggest problem was trying to figure out which man was the worst of the two evils.

The driver narrowed his eyes at the man on the street, convinced that the confrontation was anything but innocent. He tilted his head to the side trying to meet Andy's eye. "Is that right?"

Her mind was reeling; she was truly torn as to which way to go. Which man did she feel safe with? There really was only one answer to that, and unfortunately the only man that fit the bill was upstairs with no idea what was happening down there. Honestly she wouldn't feel truly safe with either of these men.

When Andy didn't answer, he cleared his throat causing her to look up at him. "Andy? Are you okay?"

The hold on Andy's arm loosened as her captor's gaze jumped between her and the driver. "Andy?"

* * *

><p>Sam was smiling to himself as he climbed back up the stairs to his living room. He started to wander towards the window hoping he might get one last look when his phone rang. He turned around and scanned the room until he spotted the cell on the coffee table. He jogged over to grab it before it went to voice mail and was surprised to see that he recognized the number.<p>

"Yuh," he answered.

"Sammy?"

_He called me Sammy; that can't be good._ "What's going on?"

"Boyd's gone AWOL and we can't reach McNally," Jerry reported before blowing out a long breath. "I can't believe I'm saying this but I really hope she's with you."

_Damn it. "_She came over…" Sam started.

"Thank, God."

Sam could hear the relief in Jerry's voice; it was going to be short lived though. "…but she just left," Sam revealed.

Jerry cursed under his breath. "And you haven't seen anything from Boyd?"

"Nothing," Sam confirmed. "I haven't even talked to him for a few days."

Sam could hear Jerry on the radio in the background and then he got back on the phone. "We're sending a car for you."

The words barely registered as Sam was now moving back to the window to see if he could still see Andy. "No," he argued. "I'm going to find McNally."

"Stay put," Jerry ordered.

Sam was shaking his head. "I've got my phone; call me when you get here."

As he approached the glass, he could hear muffled voices. When he got close enough, he looked straight down.

On the other end of the line, Jerry was still trying to get his attention. "What's going on? Sammy? Sammy?"

"Shit!" Sam hung up the phone, spun on his heel and raced to the bed. He threw the cell onto the mattress and yanked open the drawer of the night stand to pull out his gun. With a quick click, it was ready to go and Sam ran towards the stairs.

On the other end of the phone, Jerry had heard Sam curse before the line went dead. He was out of his chair and sprinting down the hall within seconds.

* * *

><p>Brennan chuckled. "I thought you knew each other."<p>

"Of course we know each other," Boyd scoffed. "I just didn't realize you were… a friend."

"We've met," Brennan confirmed vaguely.

Boyd's face hardened immediately and he again turned on McNally. "What the hell are you playing at?" His grip tightened on her arm. "You know you can't even screw up right," he seethed. He was shaking his head erratically. "I can't believe I…"

Andy's eyes widened. _Was he saying…? Had he set her up to run into Sam? What the…_

Boyd jerked her forward. "He called you last night didn't he? The guys all saw it. What the hell are you up to?"

Brennan narrowed his eyes as he listened to the whole thing. _The guy was an undercover cop; he'd bet his life on it. And if he knew Andy was helping him..._ Everything he was saying and the way he was manhandling her, well he was giving Jamie the impression that he didn't have a lot of boundaries. And he was implying that she had screwed something up. Brennan smirked;_ he was just the kind of guy who might know a little something about covering up indiscretions._ "I think you should let her go."

"And I think you should mind your own business," Boyd spat back.

"Get in the car," Brennan ordered.

"She's not going anywhere," Boyd disputed.

Brennan's voice lowered to an icy calm. "I wasn't talking to her."

Andy started scrambling. "You know what, Jamie? It's okay, really. I know him; it's fine." As much as Andy disliked Boyd, she was a police officer. And no matter what he may or may not have done she couldn't let him go with Brennan. She knew he was as good as dead if Brennan figured it out.

"Yeah, Jamie," Boyd gloated. "It's fine. You can run along now."

"I said get in the car," Jamie repeated coolly.

Boyd's refusal died in his throat when he heard the tell-tale click of a gun being readied. He briefly considered his chances at getting his own gun tucked in the back waistband of his jeans.

"You go for it and I'll kill you right here," Brennan threatened.

Boyd knew he was more than capable of doing it; in fact, he probably wouldn't even blink. Shooting someone was nothing compared to what he had done in the past, but Boyd wasn't about to let him think he got the best of him. He chuckled. "Aren't you afraid you're going to hit your little 'friend' here?"

"I'm a pretty good shot," Brennan retorted confidently.

Andy didn't like how this was going. "Jamie, I don't think this is…"

"How do you know him?" Brennan asked his eyes never once leaving Boyd.

Brennan looked cool on the outside, but Andy could see his rage bubbling just below the surface. Sam's words echoed in her ears: 'keep it as close to the truth as possible'. She knew she had to be careful though; she couldn't give away too much. "I work with him. He was, uh, just looking out for me. He doesn't like that I came to see JD."

Brennan smiled now knowing that the guy would have had the means for a cover-up too. "Why's that?"

"Uh…"

Boyd blew out a frustrated breath; _the girl couldn't lie to save her life… and he sure as hell couldn't count on her to save his. _"She shouldn't be seeing him."

"Because she's a cop?"

Boyd was stunned and he looked at Andy. "What the hell have you done? Do you have any idea how long…" He shook his head and turned back to Brennan. "What did she tell you?"

"Get in the car and I'll tell you what I know," Jamie bargained steeling his gaze. "And then you can tell me what you know."

"Why don't we just head on up to S… see JD? It's a lot closer," Boyd countered.

"No!" Andy blurted not wanting to get Sam involved.

"I agree," Brennan stated. "No need to involve JD in this. In fact, why don't you head back in Andy…"

Boyd furrowed his brow; Brennan's actions were making no sense to him. _The man was a cold-blooded killer and he knew McNally was a cop; he had been sure that once Brennan found out about Sam he would… _"Why are you letting her go?"

Andy looked over at Jamie; she had been wondering that herself.

"She helped me out, did me a favor."

Boyd growled; _he knew she had been looking into Brennan but what the hell did that mean?_

He shot his eyes quickly over to her and back. "And now we're even," he stated with a slow nod.

"What do you want with me then?" Boyd questioned. "What the hell did I do?"

"That's what we're going to find out."

Boyd and Andy exchanged a look; it was pretty obvious that Brennan had suspicions about what Boyd had done. He quickly pulled Andy in front of him so that she was between him and Jamie. He smirked over. "Not without her."

They watched as Jamie nodded purposefully in what they thought was agreement. "Open the front door," he instructed.

After that everything happened so fast that Andy wasn't sure what came first. Boyd reached for the door, Sam yelled out her name, Brennan slipped in behind the wheel, and another body came out from a nearby alley pulling her away from Boyd while simultaneously pushing him into the car. All Andy could do was turn to see it race away as Sam took hold of the man from the alley.

Sam looked worriedly over to her. "Are you okay?"

"I'm good," she assured him breathlessly.

"Okay," he nodded satisfied. "Call Jerry and tell him to make sure he brings another unit with him."

Andy pulled out her phone but the battery was dead. "Damn it."

"What?"

"I usually charge it at night, and I uh… we were… it's dead," she shrugged, holding it up.

Sam reached into his own pocket but came up empty. He thought for a second. "Run upstairs and grab mine; it's on the bed," he stated pushing Brennan's accomplice against the brick wall. Before Andy could get to the door, they heard the sirens approaching. She hesitated for a few seconds and watched as two cruisers came around the corner.

Jerry jumped out of the second one. "What happened?" He asked.

Before they could answer, Jerry turned to one of the uniformed officers and pointed to the man struggling against Sam. "Take care of that."

He turned back to Sam and Andy. "Sorry about that."

"Wait," Sam blurted before the man could be shoved into the back seat of the vehicle. The officer paused and turned the suspect around.

"Where was Brennan going?" Sam inquired taking a closer look at the man; he looked vaguely familiar.

The guy shook his head. "Those aren't the kinds of questions you ask when the boss asks you to do him a favor."

Sam realized he must have seen him around the warehouse. "What did he ask you to do?"

The man hesitated for a second, weighing his options. "Boss called about a half hour ago or so and asked me to come to this address. He said to wait in the alley and watch and listen. He said I would know if and when he wanted me; I got the signal so I went." He looked over at Sam and chuckled lightly. "I was actually surprised he didn't call you."

Sam furrowed his brow. "What do you mean?"

The guy rolled his eyes. "Oh, come on. Anyone else would have been fired after that first week, but you… no, you get asked out for drinks and pool," he explained bitterly.

Jerry jumped in then. "We'll have more questions for you when we get back to the station." He turned to the officer. "Get him in interview one; we'll be right there."

Once the cruiser pulled away, he motioned for Sam and Andy to follow him to the other car. "So obviously Brennan was here and…" He let the thought trail off and looked back at them in question.

"He's got Boyd," Sam finished.

Jerry's eyes widened. "You get a license plate?"

Sam had been too worried about Andy and subduing the accomplice to even think about the license. He looked to Andy and she shook her head in apology. She had been turned away from the car by Brennan's employee and never got a good look.

"Sorry, Jer."

"S'okay. We'll get the make and model out there, pull up his registration and get someone on the traffic cams. You can fill me in on the way." He opened the back door of the cruiser and flinched a little. "Sorry, best I can do."

Sam and Andy weren't about to complain; they simply climbed in back.

On the way to the station, Andy recalled the entire confrontation for both men and they all agreed that Brennan had figured it out or at least had his suspicions. It was also agreed that Boyd was in deep shit and if they didn't find him fast, they probably would not find him alive. Time was of the essence.

* * *

><p>As soon as they reached Fifteen, Jerry and Sam took another shot at Brennan's accomplice while Andy watched from the viewing room.<p>

JD's coworker was already seated and when Sam and Jerry walked in, the uniformed officer guarding him walked out.

"I should have known you were involved," he directed at Sam before turning to Jerry. "You know he's dealing right?"

Jerry looked down at the file before addressing the suspect. "Brett, I'd like you to meet Officer Sam Swarek."

Sam tipped his chin up, skipping the formalities. "What did he offer you?"

Brett eyed him up curiously. "A bonus on the pay cheque," he answered simply.

"You do a lot of favors for him?"

"First time."

"You didn't question it?"

"Like I said, Boss asks for a favor, you say where and when."

Sam huffed out a single chuckle; this guy had no idea.

Brett glared at Sam. "It's not like I was going to… I mean I wouldn't have done anyth… it seemed harmless alright? I mean; he just wanted to talk to the guy."

This time Sam laughed out loud. "You're too scared to say no to the guy and you think all he wants to do is talk. Give me a break. I suppose you didn't see the gun either."

The color drained from Brett's face.

Jerry cleared his throat. "You do realize you just aided and abetted in the kidnapping of a police offer."

Brett gulped audibly and shook his head no. His entire body seemed to go slack as all the fight left him. He knew it hadn't been harmless, but it was way worse than he thought.

Jerry looked up from the file in his hand. "Not too smart for a guy who's already got a couple of strikes against him. It's probably in your best interest to help us out. Wouldn't you agree?"

Brett simply nodded.

Unfortunately for Sam and Jerry, Brett's help wasn't much. He really had no idea what Brennan was doing or where he would go. It didn't surprise them though; there's no way Brennan would have gotten away with what he had by leaving loose ends or giving away too much information.

After leaving Brett in lock-up they went straight to Best and asked him to call everyone to the parade room to get the word out. There were a lot of surprised faces when Sam and Andy accompanied Jerry to the front of the room.

Jerry started off by letting everyone know who Brennan was and a little about his past record. Dov asked Sam what he had been doing and he explained that he had been working in the warehouse, making friends and trying to see if Brennan was still in the life. He also let them know that they were hoping to get him on some old homicides that involved various forms of torture.

"So what happened?" Luke asked eying Andy skeptically; she had yet to say a word.

Jerry ignored the obvious reference to Andy. "Brennan's wife and daughter were killed in what was reported as an accident, but Sam and McNally found out that they were murdered."

"But how… why was…" Luke's eyes ping ponged between Sam and Andy.

Jerry stared at Luke for a couple of seconds before resuming. "Brennan showed up at Sam's place this morning…"

"Where's the surveillance video?" Oliver wondered.

Jerry looked over to Sam. "It wasn't a scheduled meet and I had the cameras off. Wouldn't have mattered though because it all happened outside and we don't have any cameras out there so…"

There was a lot of confusion in the room as people were trying to put the pieces of the puzzle together. _Why were the cameras off? And why was McNally there?_

"What does Boyd have to do with this?" Noelle asked.

"He showed up at my apartment and based on what McNally heard; Brennan put two and two together."

While the rest of the room was speculating about why Andy was at Sam's apartment and how that related to the cameras being off, Traci was nodding. "Boyd covered up the murder."

Jerry looked over at her trying to mask his pride. "Right, and now Brennan has Boyd." He cleared his throat to get everyone else back on task. "So Guns and Gangs have got people at Brennan's home and his warehouse, nothing's come up yet; so in the meantime we get to work on Brennan. I don't think I need to tell anybody how urgent this is. Let's go." He commanded, pulling together his files and exiting the room.

Luke raced after Jerry. "How the hell did Andy get dragged into this?"

Jerry took a deep breath through his nose; he really didn't want to get into the middle of this. "She ran into Sammy while he was undercover and came to me after. We've been looking into Brennan and Boyd for the last week."

Luke furrowed his brow. "So then what was she doing there today?"

"Look, I don't know why she was there; probably to let Sammy know what we found out. But if you want to know for sure, you're going to have to ask her." He nodded his head to Sam and Andy who were deep in conversation with Oliver and the rest of the rookies.

Luke watched as the rookies split off and headed to another room. Andy lingered for a few moments; her hand rested lightly on Sam's back as she whispered to him before leaving him and Oliver alone. Luke shook his head and stalked off to his office; he could only think of one reason why Sam had the cameras off if Andy was there and he sure as hell didn't want details.

* * *

><p>When Andy found the other rookies, Dov was sitting at the computer while Chris and Traci milled about. "What's going on?" She wondered.<p>

"We got the why," Traci responded, "trying to figure out the where, where would Brennan take Boyd."

"Okay," Chris interrupted. "So I'm Brennan; I'm thinking maybe you have some information about my wife so I take you where?" He turned around and started to pace. "To a motel? Or uh to my boat house? Or to my cabin?"

"According to this, Brennan doesn't own any properties besides his home," Dov offered shooting down Chris' theories.

"All right, fine. So I take you to my mom's cabin… or my girlfriend's cabin," Chris countered, his voice rising in defense.

"You have a girlfriend." Traci tilted her head questioning.

"No, I don't have a girlfriend… what?" Chris disputed shaking his head in confusion.

"Wait," Dov interjected. "What was his wife's name?"

"Maggie," Andy supplied, flipping her bangs from her eyes and giving a quick shrug. "Maggie Brennan, I guess."

"What was her maiden name?" Traci wondered.

"Uh, I don't know," Andy answered furrowing her brow.

Dov flipped a few pages in Brennan's file before pointing to a spot on the paper. "Wilder." He turned to his computer and started punching keys. "Margaret, Maggie Wilder."

He waited for the search results to appear before announcing, "there's one property listed under that name; it's in Pickering, twenty-seven acres on Century Road." He looked up to the rest of the group. "There's a house on it."

Traci and Andy rushed out and went in search of Sam and Oliver; they found them sitting together in Jerry's office. "We've got a lead," Andy announced.

"Twenty-seven acres just north of the city," Traci continued handing her notes over to Oliver. "Property was listed under the wife's maiden name."

Sam and Oliver exchanged a look before Oliver gave a curt nod. Sam turned back to the girls. "Let's go."

* * *

><p>As much as I enjoyed Pete Sun's presence in that episode, it just seemed like it would need too much of a buildup, plus we really won't need someone to stay in the car with Andy so…<p>

And remember the Rookie's Choice Awards. You still have two days to get your nominations in.


	9. Chapter 9

Sorry for the delay. A new season of shows always seems to throw my muse off; too caught up in the real thing maybe? Tonight's episode was really good and I'm looking forward to watching it again.

I hope you enjoy it. There's quite a bit of reflection at the beginning, but hopefully it's not too much. Thanks as always to SairsJ for giving this the once over.

Don't forget about the Rookie's Choice Awards. There's still time to vote for your favorites. You can find the ballot in The Parade area of the forum.

* * *

><p>Boyd's head started to bob, once, twice; he was finally breaking back into consciousness and after the third nod, he startled completely awake. His eyes darted around the room quickly trying to take in every inch of it. His hand automatically reached for his gun but to no avail; both his hands and feet were tied securely to an old wooden chair. He heard footsteps coming from somewhere behind him and when his eyes met the amused stare of Jamie Brennan he immediately remembered what had gotten him here in the first place.<p>

"About time you woke up," Brennan chuckled. "You really are a light weight you know that."

Boyd grimaced at the insult; his normal show of bravado generally halted any questions of his ability. It had been a long time since he'd had to prove his worth on the street, but at least there was no one else there to witness his fall from grace.

It wasn't that he had been taken by Jamie Brennan; that could have happened to anyone… _and it WAS two against one._ That other guy had come out of nowhere. And before he even had time to register Swarek taking the other guy down, the car was pulling away and he was being knocked on the side of the head by what he assumed was the butt of Brennan's gun.

When he woke the first time, he had been tied to the same chair with dried blood matted into his hair and caked down the side of his face. His gun was long gone and he was sitting face to face with the man **he** was supposed to be taking down. The man whose intel didn't even come close to revealing all of his tricks.

Waking this time, the third time, his hair and shirt were completely soaked through and he felt like his body was stuck in a permanent shiver. The adrenaline had long since run out and was doing nothing to make up for the lack of heat in what appeared to be an abandoned farm house.

He thought back to the first time he came to. Brennan had immediately asked him who killed his family. Boyd knew Brennan had suspected foul play and he knew the man had made his suspicions known, but this time he seemed to have no doubts. When Boyd asked him what made him think his family had been murdered; he informed him that McNally had told him just that morning that they had someone in custody. Boyd had been shocked to say the least and a million and one questions began to swirl inside his head. _When had that happened? Was that why she had been pulling files? If she knew about the murder, then she must know about the cover up, right? But why the hell had she told Brennan; was she really that stupid? And how many other people had she told? _

Boyd had cursed. McNally had screwed his operation once again. Sure he had expected it, planned for it even, but not like this. He had even been prepared for collateral damage; he just didn't expect it to be him.

When Boyd wouldn't give up the suspect or admit to knowing anything about the cover up, Brennan pulled out an old rag and a glass milk jug filled with water. Boyd barely had time to register what was happening before he was flat on his back looking up at the ceiling and gasping for air as water flooded his mouth and nose. He had passed out almost immediately; though he wasn't completely sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing. Especially after the second time everything went black. He knew Brennan wanted information, but he couldn't get it out of him if he was passed out… and the man wasn't known for his patience.

Boyd watched as Brennan emptied the milk jug into a nearby sink and wondered what he was going to pull out next, if Brennan had any other tricks he didn't know about. He wasn't stupid though. You didn't last this long in this business without knowing a thing or two about the criminal mind. He knew that the only way to survive was endurance; he had to hold out till help arrived. Unfortunately, he wasn't sure how much more he could take. His hands were tied though, and not just literally. If he gave anything to Brennan, especially the truth, he was a dead man that he was sure of. But maybe half truths could buy him a little time. Or maybe he could throw someone under the bus; it wouldn't be the first time. It wouldn't even be the first time on this case.

He hadn't set out to throw Swarek under the bus; at least he didn't think he had. But he knew he couldn't deny that the thought hadn't crossed his mind. Brennan was smart and the chance was always there that Sam could be made but Swarek was the best. Except this time he wasn't getting anywhere and Boyd refused to believe that Brennan was out of the life. This could be the bust of his career and there was no way he was giving that up. So that's when he decided to sweeten the pot and the rookie scavenger hunt was the perfect set-up. All he had to do was drop her off close and he knew she would take care of the rest. It was like a homing beacon with her, an innate ability to find herself smack dab in the middle of one of his cases, and never in a good way.

He figured what the hell; let her do what she does best. And if Brennan found out Sam was a cop, well maybe it would force his hand. Boyd was convinced there was no way he would give up an opportunity to get answers. And if anyone could worm their way out of trouble, it would be Swarek. Still Brennan was notorious and there was always the chance that Swarek wouldn't make it, but at least he'd have Brennan. He would hate to lose one of his best UC's, but he seemed to be losing him anyway. He had tried for months to get Sam to join Guns and Gangs and he kept putting him off, refusing to make a decision. He was pretty sure McNally was the one to blame for that too. _Why couldn't Brennan have just taken her?_

_And why the hell hadn't he just waited for her at her apartment? _He had gone to find her that day to find out why she was digging into his case, and maybe see if he could find out if she **had** seen Swarek. _Sam hadn't said a thing and by now he probably wouldn't and Boyd would never get it out of him either. So he went to find her. She couldn't lie her way out of a paper bag; he'd know as soon as he looked at her._ But when she didn't show up; he decided to follow his hunch, check on Sammy and find out why the cameras were off. He thought he had hit pay dirt when she came waltzing out of the apartment alone.

He almost chuckled at the irony. _It really was the perfect plan. Send Sam in to work Brennan. If he doesn't fall for the drug angle, force his hand with a little of God's Good Grace. If Brennan still doesn't bite, throw in McNally to completely out Swarek as a cop. Brennan would revert to his old ways and torture Sam, or ideally McNally to get to Sam, for the answers. And then he would swoop in and save the day._ What he didn't bank on was McNally willingly getting the answers for Brennan. _Why the hell would she help a cold blooded killer? Did she not realize who the bad guy was here? She really needed to get her priorities straight._

So he finally has her in his hands, but then Brennan shows up and they're all buddy-buddy. _Why the hell was he there? And what was it he said? 'She helped me out. Did me a favor.' Was she on the take? And what the hell was she thinking telling him she was a cop? The girl really didn't have a clue._

Boyd was startled from his thoughts with the distinct clang of metal on metal and he looked up to find Brennan rolling out a canvas bag filled with tools. He huffed out a humorless chuckle; he had been avoiding Karma for a long time now but it looked like they were about to get reacquainted.

He could only hope that help came before Brennan got to the tools that actually plugged in. He was pretty sure they would be looking for him. _He knew McNally hated him, but she was too much of a do-gooder not to get him help. And Sammy, well Boyd wasn't sure how he felt about him right now; it would depend on what McNally had told him. But like McNally he lived and breathed to serve and protect so even though he liked to bend the rules a little he would never leave a brother behind._

The big question was just how far behind was he? He had no idea how far they had driven, how long he had been there and if they would have any clue where to look. He could see out the window and they definitely weren't still in the city, but Brennan didn't have any residential property listed under his name.

Boyd had been so caught up in his own thoughts that he hadn't realized that Brennan was talking to him. "They were both innocent and now they're dead. Whoever did this doesn't deserve your protection."

Boyd almost laughed at that; he was protecting himself mostly and hopefully earning himself a pretty nice promotion while he was at it.

"You sure you don't know?" Brennan posed from somewhere behind him.

"I told you…" The words had barely escaped his mouth when Brennan darted out in front of him. He felt the force of the hammer before he even realized what it was and he definitely wasn't laughing anymore. He grimaced as the pain shot up from his wrist and pooled somewhere deep into the base of his brain. Black spots appeared in front of his eyes.

"Hope that's not your gun hand," Brennan remarked facetiously. "I can't believe you're even in this business."

Boyd really didn't like his abilities coming into question, and although he knew it was stupid, he just couldn't help bragging. "I run the show; don't usually have to worry about getting my hands dirty."

"So you got other people to do your dirty work then?" Brennan accused.

Boyd eyed him suspiciously trying to figure out just how much he knew. "What makes you think that?"

Brennan shrugged. "I heard what you said to Andy on the street. Doesn't take a genius to figure out there's a lot more going on here than she knows about. But if you're running the show like you say you are, I bet you know exactly what's going on."

Boyd shook his head adamantly. "I wasn't in on her investigation; what did McNally say?"

Brennan huffed out a humorless chuckle. "All she said was that they have someone in custody, but she wouldn't tell me who?"

"I don't know who they arrested," Boyd insisted. It was the truth, at least partially; he hadn't even known there was an arrest.

"Doesn't mean you don't know who did it," Brennan disputed, seeing the statement for the evasion that it was. "Tell me what you know," Brennan insisted.

"I told you…" Boyd tried again, but the rest of his sentence was swallowed up by a sharp gasp of pain. Brennan had slammed the hammer down onto his knee this time. _That was definitely going to leave a mark._

"You're going to run out of limbs pretty fast," Brennan warned, "then what will I do with you?"

Boyd was still trying to regain his breath; his mind unable to focus enough to answer the question not that he really wanted to consider what came next.

Brennan took a deep breath. "You know what?" He chuckled to himself. "I'm a reasonable man and I'm sure you can be too. There's no need for anyone to get hurt…." He tilted his head to the side. "Well more hurt, if we can just talk like civilized human beings."

Boyd almost rolled his eyes at that; _this man was so far from human it wasn't even funny._

"Let's try this again," Brennan suggested pulling another chair out in front of Boyd and straddling the back of it. "You can call me Jamie," he permitted meeting Boyd's eye. "And you are…"

Boyd furrowed his brow and paused for half a second trying to work out Brennan's angle. When he couldn't come up with anything, he blew out a slow breath in what he hoped sounded like resignation. "Swarek, Sam Swarek."

* * *

><p>Four squad cars approached the farm house; the lights and sirens had been turned off blocks ago. They couldn't afford to make their presence known just yet.<p>

"I don't see a car," Sam noted pulling to a stop in the middle of the driveway.

"Yeah, maybe they're in there," Andy responded tipping her head towards a barn.

Sam gripped the radio at his shoulder. "Oliver, are you ready to search the house? We'll start there and then we'll hit the barn?"

"We're ready," Oliver confirmed. "Durham guys are on their way."

"You wanna wait?"

"Hell no!" Noelle cut in.

"Good," Sam agreed. "Oliver, you, McNally, Epstein and I, we're gonna take the front door. Nash, Diaz, you're with Noelle; you slide around back and wait for my count."

With practiced ease, they exited the cars and approached the house. When everyone was in place, Sam took control. "Stack up, Stack up. Stay on me. On three, two, one."

Sam kicked in the front door as Noelle led the charge through the back, entering at the same moment. The rooms were dark, almost black so everyone had their flashlights out leading them through the house as they illuminated every corner. Adrenaline was pumping through their veins but they had all done this before and knew they had to stay calm. They kept it steady, moving throughout the house clearing every single room one by one.

They had been through almost every inch and so far nothing. Sam and Andy led the way through the kitchen past the old outdated appliances that looked like they belonged in museum. It was pretty sparse, but it did look like someone had been there recently and at the end of the room they could see a doorway. Sam nodded quickly to Andy before moving purposefully towards the entry.

* * *

><p>Sam slid into the room, gun up, flashlight out. Andy was right behind him, followed quickly by Oliver. "Let him go, Brennan. Let him go."<p>

Andy wasn't sure what she was expecting but this wasn't it. Boyd looked a little worse for wear which wasn't a surprise. But the fact that he was wet, or had been wet… and was that a broken chair? It looked like Boyd could barely stand up but whether it was from what Brennan had done to him or from the awkward position he was in she wasn't sure. The back of an old wooden chair was laying in an almost perfect piece on the ground as if someone had purposely broken it off. The arms of the chair were still affixed to Boyd's wrists and the seat of the chair had been busted up but pieces of it were still attached to the front legs which were bound tightly against Boyd's ankles. The mass of it was definitely weighing him down but he was being held up by the neck by Brennan who, gun in hand, was using him as a shield.

Andy heard Oliver on the radio beside her. "Fifteen-nineteen, put a rush on the medics, we got an officer injured."

Andy's gun was locked on Brennan as Sam repeated his earlier command. "Let him go, Brennan."

Brennan chuckled menacingly before darting his eyes between Sam and Andy. "Go on; you know you want to."

Andy furrowed her brow; she had been in a similar position before and it was the last thing she hoped to do. She shook her head. "We don't want to."

"Go on," he encouraged. "I've got nothing left to lose." Brennan jerked Boyd up in emphasis and pressed his gun further against his neck. "He saw to that."

"Hey, I didn't…" Boyd's denial was choked off by the strength of Brennan's grip. And the hold on every gun in the room got just a little tighter.

"Jamie." Andy's voice was pained; she felt for him. And despite what he had allegedly done in the past, she didn't want to have to hurt him. But he was leaving her little choice.

Brennan smirked. "You're not worried about hitting him; are you?" The smirk morphed into a short, incredulous laugh. "The bastard probably led you to the Alpine; I could have taken you hostage the second I found out you were a cop."

Andy thought back to one of the things Boyd had said outside Sam's UC apartment_: 'You can't even screw up right'. Had he really set her up?_

"And you." Brennan flipped his head towards Sam. "So much for God's Good Grace eh?"

"You knew?" Sam was shocked. He'd have bet money on Brennan acting the second he suspected he was being worked.

"Not at first; you two were pretty convincing actually… good girl, bad boy, forbidden love and all that. But once your friend here showed up then the pieces just started falling into place including her little ramble about the boat. That was supposed to be yours wasn't it?"

The look on Sam's face was answer enough.

"Either he's completely incompetent or he wanted me to make you," Brennan speculated. "You just don't get it; he was ready to throw you under the bus and here you are worried about what might happen to him." He focused on Sam for a second. "I can understand you willing to overlook that… maybe, but the fact that he threw your girl into the mix…"

Sam's eyes widened marginally before he schooled his features but Brennan had seen it. "She is; right? Your girl I mean? You can't tell me it was all an act." He yanked on Boyd again who had made a choked off noise that sounded like agreement. "Especially if an idiot like this can figure it out. I'm guessing he was banking on the fact that you couldn't stay away once you saw her."

He gripped Boyd's neck a little tighter, pushed the gun against him a little harder. "I bet you didn't figure on getting caught did you. Thought you'd get me and if something happened to these two, well small price to pay to get the big fish right." Boyd's body was slumping down and he jerked it up again. "Right?"

Boyd was gasping, gulping desperately for air that just wasn't coming in fast enough. He nodded awkwardly knowing Brennan expected a response.

"So why didn't you then?" Andy wondered, effectively taking his focus off Boyd for the moment. "You could have easily taken either one of us." She held back a shudder at the thought of him taking Sam and her eyes were so focused on Brennan that she didn't notice a similar reaction from Sam.

Brennan turned to Andy and his voice softened a little. "Because you reminded me of my Maggie, and you listened." He shrugged. "You were the first cop I talked to that was actually willing to help me." He furrowed his brows. "So why did **you** then?"

Andy didn't hesitate. "I helped you because I took an oath to serve and protect. Your family didn't deserve what happened to them. And when a crime is committed, someone needs to be held accountable; I don't care who they are." Her eyes flickered down to Boyd of their own accord and Brennan instinctively tightened his grip once again.

"I know you want answers," Andy continued, "but you're not the only one. Those families, of the people you killed, they want to know what happened to."

"You can't prove I had anything to do with that."

"That doesn't mean you didn't do it or that we want to find out the truth any less than you do."

Brennan gave his head a quick tilt to the side. "Well then I guess one of us is just going to have to give."

Sam was getting worried; Boyd's eyes were starting to lose focus. He didn't think he could take much more. "There's nowhere to go Brennan."

"Tell me what I want to know and I'll let him go," Brennan bartered.

Sam and Andy exchanged a quick look; _could they trust him?_

Oliver's radio crackled to life; everyone else's was still on the secure channel. He looked up. "Medics are here, Sammy." He had also been keeping a close eye on Boyd and knew they needed to hurry.

_Sammy? _Brennan looked over at the two men and his eyes wandered down to Sam's chest. "You're Swarek? Sam Swarek?"

Confusion painted Sam's face as he no idea why his real name would carry any significance with Brennan. "That's right," he answered guardedly.

Brennan huffed out a breath. "Really?" He looked down at Boyd. "And here I thought you were Sam Swarek."

Sam's eyebrows shot to the top of his head and both Andy and Oliver gasped in surprise.

Brennan's finger inched against the trigger and although it took every ounce of energy he had, Boyd managed to find his voice.

"Ell-more," he rasped out.

Brennan laughed in recognition. "See now that wasn't so hard; unless of course you're trying to convince me that that's your name now." He leaned down with a wicked grin. "So how'd you know if you weren't part of the investigation?"

Boyd's body slumped and the last of the fight left him; his life was now in the hands of people who had every reason to hate him. But the funny thing was he actually trusted them to help him even after everything he had done. He almost laughed at the irony. He had always looked down at them for not being more like him and now it could very well be the difference that saved his life.

Sam and Oliver exchanged a look, neither one certain that giving Brennan what he wanted was the right move and it looked to them like Boyd had realized that a second too late. "You got what you wanted, now let him go," Sam ordered.

Brennan shook his head. "Names are just the start of it; someone has to pay."

"He will pay," Sam assured him. "He's already in custody; the system will take care of him now."

"Same system that puts assholes like this in charge," he challenged shoving Boyd to the forefront. "Forgive me if I don't have a lot of faith."

"Come on Jamie," Andy pleaded. "You'll never get near Ellmore and the house is surrounded; there's nowhere to go."

When his eyes met Andy's, they were cold and vacant. She fought back a shiver. "He wasn't the only one at fault," Brennan disputed.

"IA's already on that too," Sam confirmed. "Wouldn't be surprised if there was a warrant out for his arrest," Sam reasoned flipping his chin towards Boyd.

Boyd let his eyes fall closed and simply wished for an end to this, however it came. If he couldn't be a cop, he wasn't sure he cared anymore how he got out of this. He was just so tired.

Brennan simply stared straight ahead. "It's not enough," he murmured mostly to himself.

"Maggie wouldn't want you to do this," Andy reasoned hoping another tactic would work. "You straightened out your life for her; don't taint her memory."

"Maggie," Brennan breathed out. "She didn't deserve… any of this... neither of them did." His shoulders drooped; he was lost to his own thoughts for a second so Sam, Oliver and Andy all inched forward thinking the same thing. _It was time to make a move._

But then Brennan's gaze snapped back up to them in a steeled resolve. "Like you said, someone needs to be held accountable." His eyes locked on Andy's. "I don't care who they are."

Before anyone could blink, a single shot pierced the air.

* * *

><p>I don't really think Boyd went this far sending Andy on the scavenger hunt near Sam on purpose. But I do think that he gave Sam the bad intel to force Brennan to make a move.<p> 


	10. Chapter 10

As usual, what I planned to be the last chapter is… not. When I hit 5000+ words, I knew it was time to think about breaking it up. There will be one more chapter after this one; likely a short one with a couple of scenes just to tie up all the loose ends. And hopefully NOT an almost four month wait. Sorry for that.

Thanks, as always, to SairsJ for giving this the once over. I hope you all enjoy it.

* * *

><p>But then Brennan's gaze snapped back up to them in a steeled resolve. "Like you said, someone needs to be held accountable." His eyes locked on Andy's. "I don't care who they are."<p>

Before anyone could blink, a single shot pierced the air… followed by three more in quick succession.

* * *

><p>Andy's eyelids started to flutter, struggling to open even with the small amount of light shining in the room. When her eyes finally started to focus she found a pair of dark brown ones staring right back at her, the relief in them was almost overwhelming.<p>

He didn't say a word; he wasn't even sure he was capable at the moment. He just watched and waited.

She thought back to the last thing she remembered. She could have sworn Brennan shot first. _Didn't he?_

She tried to pull herself up but the pain that shot through her upper body made it almost impossible. Sam's hands darted out to her upper arms, halting any further movement. Instead he guided her gently back down to rest her head against what appeared to be his uniform shirt folded into a makeshift pillow.

"H…" Her whole body tensed, even talking seemed to hurt.

"Just relax, McNally," he ordered in his best TO voice, "we got another bus on the way."

She couldn't stop trying though; she needed to know. Her voice was weak but she finally got it out. "He shot first, right?"

She heard a noise of frustration break through as he started to nod.

_She's lying on the ground and all she's worried about was the shoot._ "Yes, McNally," he confirmed, the exasperation now leached into his words. "He shot first." _Which is why he's now got three… And even if he hadn't shot first, he and Oliver would be swearing up and down to SIU that he had. __Brennan was really lucky he didn't kill him on the spot._

When he broke out of his thoughts, he could see that she was trying to appraise him with her eyes. "I wasn't hit," he stated trying to save her the trouble of having to move for a better look.

She nodded keeping her actions slow this time, finally getting that any abrupt movement was not a good idea. "Oliver?"

She rolled her head to the side when she heard the man in question reply for himself somewhere to her left. "Fit as a fiddle, McNally." She watched as he pulled a pair of purple gloves from his hands and couldn't help but wonder if Brennan's was the only blood tainting them.

Andy smiled as she closed her eyes for just a second. "McNally," Sam scolded, but she could tell it was more from worry than anger.

She opened one eye up to shoot a glare his way. "I'm fine, Sam, just resting for a second."

Sam didn't like her eyes closed, but he decided to concede this one… but just for a second or two.

Andy replayed the last few moments of her memory. Even though tools were Brennan's weapon of choice, she would have bet money on him being a decent shot. _So was she… did he… she wasn't that far away…_ With her eyes still closed, she lifted the hand on the side that didn't hurt so much and pulled it across her body as she sought out the location of the bullet.

"McNally," Sam warned the irritation even more present in his voice.

She halted her movements and blew out a breath of frustration. "Where did it hit?"

The air escaped Sam's lungs long and slow, but for a very different reason. She opened her eyes and watched as he first looked to the ceiling before his rested back on her and he answered, "collarbone, left side… maybe an inch or two into the edge of the vest."

Her vision glazed over as the location registered in her head. _Either she was very lucky or he… She might never know. _"Is Brennan…"

"He's alive," Sam confirmed, "a little, well a lot worse for wear but alive. After he…" Sam had to take an extra second and make a concerted effort to breathe. "We each got a shot in. They put him on the first bus, but you shouldn't be…"

She started to speak again and he just shook his head_; telling her not to worry about others was a waste of breath. _

"Boyd?"

That seemed to lighten Sam's mood a little. "You mean before or after he passed out?"

She could see he was enjoying the idea of that and was happy to see something other than worry in his eyes. "Both."

"Well, I'm pretty sure he collapsed after the first shot, even before Brennan went down with him. But on his way to the ambulance, he was already coming to and Oliver was getting an earful about how we could have hit him when we shot at Jamie."

Andy's chuckle was stopped short by the pain emanating through her body and Sam's darkened mood returned with it. "Just lie still McNally; we got another bus coming for you."

He should have known better than to remind her of that as she immediately started trying to pull herself up. "I'm fine."

"No, you're…"

"I'm fine," she insisted tensing her body to try and temper the pain.

"Give me your arm, then," Sam insisted, "if you can pull yourself up, I won't put you in the bus." Oliver's eyes widened marginally before a ghost of a grin appeared on his face. He exchanged a look with Sam and they both knew she was headed straight to the hospital; the only difference **might** be the way she got there.

Sam stretched out his arm to help her up; purposely reaching for the side where the bullet hit.

Andy raised the opposite arm and it was mirrored by Sam's eyebrow. She tilted her head in challenge, daring him to refute that she did it.

He didn't bite.

"Better give me them both," he instructed holding out his other hand.

He chose to ignore the chuckle coming from Oliver and kept his eyes locked on her face. He watched as she struggled to lift her other arm; he could see the tears at the edge of her eyes and the pain that was radiating through them but she was not going to give up.

"Andy," Sam cautioned. He really didn't want her to hurt herself. _She had to admit…_ he shook his head. This was McNally; he knew how stubborn she was.

Thankfully, Oliver decided to make himself useful. He moved up behind her and braced her arm so it wouldn't move. Between the three of them, they had her up on her feet just as they heard the sirens. "Sorry, McNally, Sarge's orders," he declared.

Her head snapped over to him without thinking and they all cringed as the question came out in a gasp of pain. "Who…"

"He called Noelle as she was getting in with Brennan…" Of course, Oliver had no idea what was said, but he figured Frank would be the better target for Andy's wrath; she wouldn't make his life more difficult… well not on purpose anyway.

Andy grumbled the entire way out of the house as Sam braced her arm. His eyes never left her face so he could manage his movements to make sure she wasn't in too much pain.

Oliver alternated his gaze between the two of them, chuckling to himself the entire way. _As if watching them fight it this whole time wasn't fun enough already, he had a feeling McSwarek together was going to be that much more enjoyable._

They exited the house just as the EMT's were pulling the gurney up next to it. They saw the way Sam was holding Andy and glared at him. "You should have waited…"

"I don't need that!" Andy scoffed flipping her nose up at the rolling contraption.

Sam looked at the EMT and lifted his arms away from Andy in concession. "Give it your best shot."

"Ma'am, we need you to…" the younger one tried.

"Let's get this over with," Andy grumbled and he looked at Sam in triumph.

Sam simply watched and waited, and she didn't disappoint. She waltzed right past the gurney and towards the ambulance. He looked back at the medics. "Don't think we didn't try," he stated before he broke into a light jog and fell into step beside Andy. He helped her up into the ambulance just as the attendants reached the back.

He started to lift himself up in behind her and she furrowed her brow. "Sam, I'm fine; you and Oliver should probably…"

The smile was still firmly planted on Oliver's face. He was not leaving until the show was over.

"I don't think so, McNally," Sam disputed, "someone has to go along and make sure you don't sweet talk the medic into dropping you off at home."

The younger one, who was obviously much newer, responded anxiously, "Oh no, Sir; once we get the call and have her in here, we have to…"

Sam looked at him in disbelief. "I know, but for your own safety…"

Oliver snickered at Andy's indignant glare and the ensuing smirk on Sam's face.

"I am not that bad," she argued.

Sam started to chuckle. "No, you're not that bad, but your arm is and someone has to make sure you let them do what they need to do. And like it or not, that someone is me."

"Fine," Andy muttered under her breath.

"Besides, we need to head to the hospital anyway and check in with everyone, coordinate the debrief…"

Oliver spoke up then. "It sounds like Jerry's going to meet us there to start taking statements. Hopefully bring some relief to watch Brennan and Boyd so the rest of us can go home."

Andy turned her glare on him and he tried to look chagrined; he really hadn't meant to rub it in that he could come and go as he pleased.

"We need to get moving," the medic encouraged, thankfully saving Oliver.

"Right, right," Oliver agreed quickly. "I guess I'll meet you two there then." He looked at Andy. "Behave," he ordered, "let him take care of you."

The look in his eye told her he was not talking about the young medic and a small smile graced her lips as the color in her cheeks darkened.

"And you," he shifted his gaze to Sam, "be nice."

"Yeah, yeah," Sam relented before looking at the EMT. "Let's go."

On the way to the hospital, Andy's shoulder was immobilized and they gave her something for the pain. The medication took effect quickly and Andy wasn't the only one it relaxed. Sam's demeanor calmed in direct proportion to her comfort level, and by the time they got to their destination, they were both chatting amicably with the attendant.

They were whisked into a room almost immediately, but were told that x-ray was backed up. They would come to get her as soon as they could.

* * *

><p>They had been sitting in her room resting with their eyes closed. They hadn't seen anything of anyone yet but assumed that Oliver was checking in with everyone else knowing that Sam would be staying with Andy.<p>

Sam jolted awake when he heard the door open.

"Sorry, brother," Oliver offered propping the door open with his foot.

Sam waved him off but looked to the bed to see if he woke Andy too. He turned back to Oliver in confusion; the bed was empty.

"They took her up to x-ray a few minutes ago; I just passed them in the hallway."

Sam jumped up intent on going with.

Oliver held up his hand. "Relax, brother," you won't be allowed back. I already offered to go with; they told me no before McNally could even get a word in. When I told her I was surprised you let her out of your sight," he paused, grinning at the glare he knew would be coming, "she told me you were sleeping and not to wake you up. Looks like she's not the only one being taken care of…"

Sam tilted his head to the side and stared at Oliver from under his lashes, silently asking him if he was done.

He was. "Listen, I've already given my statement to Jerry so I'm gonna head home for the night."

Sam looked at his watch; they had already been there over an hour.

"Zoe and the girls…"

"No, no, of course," Sam interrupted, "it's all good. We'll be fine."

Andy came rolling up behind Oliver. "Of course, we'll be fine. You need to go Oliver; see you tomorrow…well later today."

Oliver chuckled as he stepped aside to first let her through and then the nurse back out. "McNally, I'm not expecting to see you for at least a week. Well, unless of course you're coming to the Penny to buy me a drink."

"Buy you a drink?"

He looked at her like the answer should be obvious. "To express your undying gratitude for my assistance today."

"Of course," she conceded chuckling. "We couldn't have done it without you."

Oliver grinned and gave her a quick wink before leaning down next to her ear, his faux whisper more than loud enough for Sam to hear. "Let him take care of you."

Sam rolled his eyes while Andy's cheeks flooded with color. "I don't need…" she tried to contend. But he was already halfway out the door and didn't turn back; he just gave her a wave over his shoulder. "You heard me!"

Andy's focus stayed locked on her hands; she could still feel the warmth in her cheeks. She really didn't know what to say but the silence was starting to get uncomfortable, and she never really did do well with silence. _She didn't want to ask Sam to help her. She could manage if she had to; she always did. And maybe he had other plans or didn't really want to..._

Sam cleared his throat and pulled up his chair beside her, the quiet was getting to him too. "Did you get any sleep? I mean earlier."

"A little," she grinned, "not as much as you though, but some."

Sam shook his head. _This Girl. _"Well, you might as well try and get some more; who knows how long we're going to be here."

"I'd rather wait," Andy contested. "They said they'd rush the x-rays through and I'd really rather go home and sleep in my own bed."

Sam tried to hide the disappointment. He really did want to take care of her and he was hoping for more of a 'we' in her plans for tonight and for, well, ever. He meant it when he said, 'no going back'.

Either Andy picked up on his thoughts or she had already been thinking along the same lines. Her voice was so quiet and unsure that Sam was leaning toward the latter. "And you know, Oliver said that you should take care of me so you should probably… I mean if you want… I wouldn't mind…"

She left the idea hanging but Sam couldn't bear the thought of doing the same to her. He picked up her hand and started to rub soothing circles on it. His voice was just as quiet and he struggled to keep the nervousness out, but he needed her to know that he did… want. "I'll have to go get the truck…"

"I can help you with that," Jerry interrupted.

Sam straightened up in his seat and tried to pull his hand away, but Andy held on tight. He looked in her eyes as if to say 'are you sure'; her soft smile was answer enough and he leaned back in.

They looked over to Jerry as he shifted his gaze between them; the air was thick with tension, not a bad kind, more an anxious excitement. His eye was drawn down to their intertwined hands, Sam's thumb gliding tenderly across the back of Andy's. There was definitely something more than just a ride on the line here. He had work to do though. "We got all the other statements we could. So it's down to you two and Brennan, and he's still in recovery. I got unis on all the doors."

Andy furrowed her brow and tried to shift her body to see outside her room; she didn't need protection. Jerry chuckled. "No, I got them on Brennan and on Boyd. Traci, Diaz, Epstein, Peck and Noelle have all headed back." He looked around. "I thought Ollie was coming back here."

"He did; just left."

"Alrighty then," Jerry acknowledged. "So, how do you wanna do this? Sammy, we can head back and do it at the station if you want to get your truck…"

"Do you want to take Andy's first?"

Jerry was wriggling uncomfortably, shifting from foot to foot. "Well, I… can, um…" he finished the sentence quickly and quietly. So much so that Sam and Andy couldn't even really hear him. They were pretty sure he said he had someone here to help with Andy's statement, but…

"What?"

"There were a lot of people to coordinate, and we've been sort of working together, so we both came. I could get yours when I take you back and he can stay here and take McNally's"

A grimace took over Sam's face and his ministrations stalled; _something wasn't quite right if Jerry was…_ "Who did you say was going to take McNally's statement?"

Andy watched anxiously wondering the same thing. _Why was Jerry so…oh!_

"I said Callaghan alright? He's been here taking statements too."

Sam's whole body tensed and he looked over at Andy when he felt her grip tighten on his.

"But, I mean, no one was killed, right?" She looked anxiously over at Sam. "You said he was just worse for wear right? We don't need homicide."

Sam squeezed Andy's hand in what he hoped was reassurance and began to stroke the back of it again. "I haven't heard any different," he explained soothingly. He looked up at Jerry for confirmation.

"What?" Jerry was off in his own thoughts. "No, Brennan's fine; but Best had everyone on the case right? Cop missing; all hands on deck. Boyd's guys are too close so…"

Jerry briefly wondered if they weren't all a little too close, but with no death, that likely wouldn't be questioned. He would just have to ensure they remained impartial, which was the department's biggest worry about Boyd's people. Everything would be scrutinized with the cover up and they couldn't afford for any bias.

Sam turned back to Andy. He could see the apprehension in her eyes but when she looked over to him, she tried to hide it. "It's fine, Sam." _She would have to face him sooner or later._

But Sam's preference was obviously for later. "You stay here with McNally. I'll get a ride with Callaghan, give my statement, and come back with the truck."

Although he was talking to Jerry, his eyes never left Andy as he spoke. When she gave him a small nod, he returned it before looking back at Jerry with a determined expression.

Jerry nodded; it was not up for discussion. And he would always back up his friend anyway so he agreed readily.

Jerry pulled out his phone to let Luke know, when the same man strolled through the door. "Oh good, you're here. Take Sammy back to the station and get his statement. Tomorrow we can review them all."

Luke's mouth dropped open and it took him a second to decide what he wanted to say. "I thought… uh, I don't really need to be anywhere and I have my car here so I can take Andy's…"

"Already decided, Callaghan. Let's go," Sam ordered leaving no room for argument, though he still had to practically push Luke towards the door. The detective's eyes were glued on Andy almost willing her to let him talk to her. Sam watched as she steadfastly avoided his stare.

"Andy…" he tried again.

She finally let her gaze land on him. "Not now, Luke."

He was muttering under his breath as he finally allowed Sam to urge him out. But he jerked himself away as soon as they cleared the room. "This should be good," he grumbled sarcastically.

* * *

><p>The ride back to the station was uncomfortably quiet, with neither man willing to put in the effort to ease the strain. Luke was seething and Sam didn't care if it was pleasant; he just wanted to get it over with.<p>

They pulled up to the barn and Sam jumped out. "I'm going to get changed and then…"

Luke couldn't believe his nerve; he wasn't the one running the show here and Luke was going to make sure he knew it. "I'd prefer to get straight at it actually."

"You said you didn't have anywhere to go remember. And **I'd** prefer to be more comfortable so I'll be grabbing a coffee too."

He knew Sam, and he wasn't going to win this. "Interview one."

Sam furrowed his brow. He thought they would just do it in his office. No one else had been recorded. "What's wrong with your office?"

"Just trying to do this by the book." The implication of Sam's disregard for the rules hung thickly between them.

"I'll be there in ten," he informed, glaring at Luke and daring him to rush him.

Luke flipped on his heel and headed for the coffee. Sam smirked and turned for the locker room. He changed quickly and grabbed his go bag and keys. After a quick stop at the coffee station, he made his way to interview.

The door opened loudly and Callaghan looked up; his eyes widened when Sam dropped his bag and keys on the floor.

"What? I'm heading straight out as soon as we're done here so…"

"I didn't ask," Luke responded aiming for an air of nonchalance that he didn't quite hit.

Sam just huffed out a breath and moved to the other side of the table. He hadn't even sat down before Luke hit the button on the recorder and started the standard protocol of reciting names, case information, etc.

Sam resisted the eye roll, but he really had no idea why the detective felt the need to put on the show.

"Okay Officer Swarek…"

This time Sam couldn't resist and his eyes shot to the ceiling . "Is that really necessary?" he asked nodding at the equipment.

"I think so."

Sam let out a long, loud breath and conceded himself to the fact that this was going to be a long, drawn out process.

"So this all started when you ran into Officer McNally about a week ago. How did that happen?"

Sam pulled his chin back and looked at him like he'd lost it.

"Officer Swarek, we need to know the whole story. What happened when Officers Nash and McNally went on the scavenger hunt?"

"First of all, **Detective Callaghan, **I've already given my statement about that night to Detective Barber. That incident has already been documented. All you need is my statement about how we found Boyd and what happened at Brennan's wife's cabin."

Luke pulled out his phone. "I'll just…"

Sam stood up abruptly and shut off the recording. "If you call this by the book…"

"Are you kidding me Sammy?" Luke retorted.

Sam grimaced at the nickname; there were only a select few that got away with using it and Callaghan wasn't one of them. He bit his tongue… hard.

"You're one to lecture **me** about the rules," Luke practically spat. "You bend them whenever you want, but you know what? This time you've gone too far. And normally I wouldn't give a damn, but this time you're dragging Andy down with you."

Sam shook his head; he had no idea where this was going. "What are you talking about?"

"Sleeping with another officer while you're UC," Luke replied smugly.

_Ah! _Sam just stared blankly back.

"You may only get a slap on the wrist. 'Good ole Swarek gets away with another one'. But she's just starting; you have no idea what this will do to her career."

Sam was shaking his head again but this time in disagreement. He already planned on taking full responsibility **if** it ever came out, but no one knew for sure and he knew Jerry wouldn't push it.

"Don't deny it; I'm the one that took Boyd's statement."

Sam shrugged his shoulders in dismissal; he had no doubt that Boyd gave Luke an earful, anything to throw some blame on someone else, but he wasn't giving anything away.

"I know you turned the cameras off," Luke continued.

Sam scoffed. "I'm not denying McNally came over; she reported that to Jerry right after it happened. And I'm sure it will be in her statement this time too. But what did you want us to do? We couldn't very well have Boyd hear us discussing it."

A sarcastic laugh escaped Luke's lips. "I'm not an idiot. You and I both know…"

His words were stopped short when Sam stalked around the table and stood directly in front of him. "Think what you want Callaghan, but you don't **know** anything."

"I guess we'll see what shakes out when they process your apartment," he threatened.

Sam simply laughed. "It all happened outside Callaghan. Yeah Brennan stopped by, but we talked, he left and that's it. There's no processing to be done inside." He could see the wheels turning in Luke's head and decided he would be making a call back to Jerry though, just in case, in fact… "You know what?" He started nodding, assured of his decision. "I think I'll just give my statement to Jerry after he talks to Andy." With that, he walked right past Luke and picked up his bag and keys. "I'll be seeing you detective."

And he walked out.

* * *

><p>Sam had just cleared the emergency room doors when he saw Jerry striding towards him. "That didn't take long."<p>

"Yeah, about that," Sam began sheepishly.

Jerry's eyebrows raised a touch, and he hoped Sam hadn't dug himself a hole he couldn't get out of. "You didn't…"

Sam looked at his friend and started to smirk. Jerry's eyes widened.

"Relax; all I did was walk out on him."

"What happened?" Jerry inquired, really not surprised that it didn't go well.

"He started by asking about Andy coming over that night after the Alpine."

Jerry's eyebrows furrowed. "I already have that information."

"That's what I told him, but he didn't seem to be in too big of a hurry to talk about what went down at the farmhouse."

Jerry was nodding. "Yeah, he asked me earlier why Andy had been at your apartment."

"What did you say?"

"Nothing really, I told him she was probably there to let you know what we found out and that if he wanted any more, he'd have to ask her."

Sam rubbed at the back of his neck. "About that, he was talking about processing inside the apartment."

"Why would we need to do that? The altercation happened outside, and really there isn't even much out there. Tire marks, maybe, but that's about it. Footprints in the alley where the accomplice waited."

"Exactly. I wouldn't put it past him to press for it though. He's digging for dirt."

"Is he going to find any?"

Sam knew what he was asking and he didn't want to put Jerry in between, but he was going to need his help to protect Andy. "I didn't exactly make the bed this morning," Sam admitted.

Jerry nodded; Sam hadn't said it in so many words but the eyes told him all he needed to know. And since it had no bearing on the case, Jerry was going to do whatever he could to keep that part out of it. He knew they'd be going through everything with a fine tooth comb, but as long as they stuck to the facts about Brennan's appearance, they should be okay. "I've already spoken to Superintendent Peck and she's asked me to coordinate everything. The crime scene unit was already on site this morning right after it happened and they've moved on to the farmhouse; I see no need for them to go back."

Sam clapped his friend on the shoulder. "Thanks, buddy." He then motioned in the direction of Andy's room. "You done with McNally then?"

"Yeah, I got it all. Guess **we** need to talk though." He tilted his head in the opposite direction. "You wanna go get a coffee so we can get this over with."

Sam nodded but his first move was to head the other way. "I'll just let Andy know…"

Jerry reached his hand out to stop him. "She's not there; they took her…"

"Did something happen?" Sam's eyes started darting around in panic.

Jerry just laughed. "Relax, buddy, they just took her to fit her for a brace."

"Brace?"

"Hairline fracture in her collarbone."

Sam frowned; _she would not be happy._ "How long?"

"I think they said it would take about fifteen minutes to a half hour depending on how backed up they were."

"No, how long will she be laid up?"

"They asked me to step out," Jerry explained, "but I think I heard something about six weeks."

_That was going to be tough on her_. He would hate to be idle for that long and knowing Andy, he knew she would feel the same.

"You probably want to get home so yeah let's get this done."

"I don't think it will take long. I already talked to both Andy and Oliver so yours should be pretty much the same. What McNally couldn't tell me, Oliver did. Plus I still have to stop by and see if Brennan is in any shape to talk tonight."

Sam shook off the reminder of those few minutes she had lost consciousness; he didn't want to think about it. She had fallen back and at first he worried that the shot had missed the vest, but when he didn't find any blood, he figured she must have hit her head. _Wait. _"Did they say anything about a concussion?"

Jerry thought back. "Not that I know of."

Sam was nodding but mostly to himself; he was going to have to ask the doctor personally as he was pretty sure that Andy probably wouldn't mention it.

* * *

><p>Jerry and Sam sat down in the cafeteria and it didn't take long at all. Once they were done, Jerry headed up to Brennan's room and Sam made his way back to Andy's.<p>

When he got there, someone was just making up the bed and Andy was nowhere to be found. Sam took a step back and looked at the room number; _he was in the right place_. "The woman that was in here," he started.

Just then, the doctor emerged from the next room. "Are you looking for Officer McNally?"

"Yes."

"And you are…"

"I'm her partner; I came in the ambulance with her."

The nurse next to the doctor nodded in confirmation.

"She was fitted for the brace and they were just doing up her discharge papers when I left."

Sam looked at his phone; _she hadn't texted him and he was supposed to take her home. He said he was getting the truck; she had to know…_ "Did someone pick her up?"

"Oh no," the nurse responded. "The other gentleman that came in… with the other police officer… he was asking for her."

Sam furrowed his brow. _He didn't like the idea of Boyd taking a run at her, especially if she was alone. _"So that's where she went?"

"Yes, you just missed her actually; one of the orderlies wheeled her up there."

Sam couldn't help the small smile; he bet she just loved that. "Thank you."

Jerry had let him know earlier what room Boyd was in and he headed straight there. He nodded to the officer outside the door in greeting and motioned to the door in question. The officer waved his hand in consent, having recognized Sam immediately.

He pushed open the door quietly not knowing what he was walking into; he took the fact that he didn't hear yelling as a good sign. His brows furrowed even further when he noticed that Andy was nowhere in the room and Boyd appeared to be asleep.

He was just about to slip out of the room when he heard a scratchy voice call his name. "Sammy?"

_Damn it!_ He turned back around; if he hadn't been looking for Andy, he would not have been here. He had nothing to say to Boyd.

"Yuh," he replied shortly.

Boyd tried to clear the sleep from his voice, but his throat was still dry and rough from the waterboarding and subsequent coughing. He pointed to the pitcher of water. "Do you mind?"

_Yes._ Sam grabbed the pitcher and poured it into the cup. He handed it to Boyd without ceremony; he watched him struggle with the straw but he wasn't about to play nursemaid.

"Thanks," Boyd offered a little more clearly.

Sam stared back at him for a second before shaking his head and spinning on his heel. "I gotta go."

"Come on, Sammy."

"No," Sam turned around and shot daggers at Boyd. "Don't 'come on Sammy' me; you could have gotten me killed. And you could have gotten Andy killed…"

Boyd shook his head; _of course it came back to McNally_. He huffed out a hostile chuckle. "Look, you and that rookie…"

Sam took a few menacing steps closer. "Her name is Officer McNally, and two years on the job she's already ten times the cop you'll ever be."

Sam looked Boyd dead in the eye. "You're done."

And then he turned and walked out.

The officer on the door looked surprised to see Sam out so quickly.

"Have you seen McNally?" He asked, too angry to have asked Boyd.

The officer shook his head. "No she hasn't been here at all; I heard she was getting looked at."

Sam nodded. "She was, but they said that the other…' _Shit! Boyd wasn't the only 'gentleman' they brought in. _"Do you know what room Brennan is in?"

The answer was barely out of the officer's mouth before Sam was running to the stairs; there was no way he was waiting for the elevator.


	11. Chapter 11

It's time to say goodbye to another story; this will be the last chapter. I hope enjoy it.

Thanks, again to SairsJ for giving this a read through.

* * *

><p>Sam nodded. "She was, but they said that the other…' <em>Shit! Boyd wasn't the only gentleman they brought in. <em>"Do you know what room Brennan is in?"

It was barely out of his mouth before Sam was running to the stairs; there was no way he was waiting for the elevator.

* * *

><p>Andy was wheeled up to Brennan's room. As she approached, the officer on watch quickly recognized her and moved to open the door.<p>

Andy held up her hand as best she could; she was still getting used to the brace. "Just..."

Officer Andrews released his hold on the handle and waited for her to make it the rest of the way. Andy took a couple of deep breaths; she didn't want to go in there until she knew she was prepared to hear whatever he had to say. After a couple of seconds she looked up at the orderly. "I can take it from here."

He looked skeptically at her brace; he knew enough to know that she shouldn't be pushing her own weight. "I don't..."

Andy shook her head and looked over to her colleague. "The officer can wheel me in."

Andrews nodded at the question inherent in her statement, and the orderly stepped away from Andy. "You have been discharged but it **is** hospital policy that someone has to wheel you out; if you don't have someone coming to pick you up who can do that, you need to call one of the nurses' stations."

Andy tried not to roll her eyes; she knew he was only doing his job. "I have someone picking me up..." She let her voice trail off as she realized that Sam would be back soon and she wasn't sure if he would be happy about her talking to Brennan.

"Is something wrong?"

"No... I just, it's likely he'll head straight to my room so I should probably..." She reached for her phone and awkwardly removed it from her pocket. The orderly was still standing there so she assured him, "it's fine."

"Call if you need help," he instructed looking between Andy and the other officer. He received a nod from both and turned to leave.

Andrews looked down at Andy. "You sure about this?"

Andy took a second to look at her phone but then finally nodded. "Yep."

The action did not go unnoticed and Andrews pointed at her cell. "You want me to text someone for you?"

She shook her head. "I won't be long; I'll uh, let him know when I'm done."

Andrews nodded but then obviously recalled something. "Does Detective Barber know you're... he said **he'd** be back to question Brennan."

"I'm sure he'll be here shortly." She nodded at the door. "Could you..."

Andrews pulled on the door and propped it open with his foot while he gripped the side of the wheelchair to tug Andy forward. He maneuvered her in through the doorway and then fell into step behind her and grabbed the handles.

Andy eyes were drawn to the bed as soon as they entered the room. She was amazed that even after being shot multiple times and now hooked up to a bunch of machines, he still looked strong. His eyes were closed though and she wondered if maybe she should wait or if she should even...

"I knew you couldn't resist," he remarked.

Andy was quiet as Andrews pushed her in closer and then turned to go. "I'll be right outside if..."

Andy nodded. "I'll be fine."

She turned back to Brennan but still didn't say a word.

"I knew you couldn't stay away," he repeated.

Andy huffed out a breath. "I don't know how; I wasn't even sure myself if I was going to come."

Brennan chuckled. "We're too much alike."

"Excuse me?" Andy asked incredulously

"You and me, we're a lot alike."

"I'm not sure how..."

Brennan lifted his hand until the tubes running into his wrist stopped him. "I just mean we both like answers, don't like to leave anything undone. We need to know why."

As much as Andy wanted to dispute that she was anything like him, she couldn't argue that she wasn't curious about his actions in the farmhouse.

* * *

><p>Andrews had only been back out on his post for a couple of minutes when Jerry walked up. "He awake?"<p>

The uniformed officer nodded. "Yeah, but McNally's in there right now. Do you want to wait..."

Jerry's eyebrows climbed to the top of his head. "But..." His gaze shot back towards the way he came and then he shook his head. He held up one finger in signal that he just needed a minute. He walked a few steps away and pulled out his phone. _Did Sammy know? No, he couldn't. What would he do when he found out?_

Jerry decided to get an idea of what was going on first and then if he needed to he could head Sam off at the pass. He immediately walked back to the door and pulled it open.

Both heads in the room flipped up to see who was there, but Jerry kept his eyes on Andy. "McNally."

Andy tried not to look or feel guilty. She really wasn't doing anything wrong; she was part of this case too, a pretty big part actually.

Jerry shifted his focus to Brennan, who looked the most comfortable out of all of them. "I came to do the interview."

Andy nodded; her answers would have to wait. She couldn't really do anything on her own though so she just sat there.

"You should probably..." Jerry motioned her towards the door. "Sammy went to your room to..."

Andy's eyes widened and Brennan chuckled. "You didn't tell him you were coming to see me?"

Andy ignored the question; she didn't owe him any answers. "I thought he was still at the station," she directed at Jerry.

"Yeah, I ended up taking his statement here."

Andy furrowed her brow.

"Long story," Jerry answered not willing to elaborate, but Andy could make a pretty good guess.

She picked up the phone that was still sitting in her lap. "I should probably..."

Jerry nodded_. It would definitely be better if he heard it directly from her_. "You can do that outside."

Pushing herself up and out wasn't an option and Andy looked at him questioningly until he finally clued in that she couldn't really wheel herself out of there. He moved to grab the handles and turn her away.

"No, wait," Brennan commanded.

"I'm sorry..." Jerry started.

"No, I'll answer your questions; I will. It's just... can you give us a few minutes?"

Jerry really didn't like the idea of leaving her in there alone. If Sam found out that he allowed it, he would not be happy.

"I don't think..."

"Just a couple of minutes and then I'll answer **all** your questions."

His emphasis on the word 'all' intrigued Jerry. "Just a couple of minutes?"

"Yes."

"And you'll answer everything?"

Brennan nodded. "Everything," he confirmed.

If Brennan kept his word, it could tie up at least four cold cases; Jerry had to take the chance. "Go ahead," he urged, but made no move to leave the room.

"Alone," Brennan stressed.

Jerry pointed to Andy. "Text Sammy. I'll..." He shook his head; he had no idea what he was going to do when Sammy got there if she wasn't out.

Andy was already typing but her head shot up at Brennan's response. "Send him in when he gets here."

Jerry's eyes were wide in surprise as he left. Andy looked back at Brennan.

"Why didn't you kill me?"

"I could ask you the same thing," Andy responded.

"Touché," Brennan grinned; he really did like her. "But you first."

"Shoot to kill is a last resort," she began.

"But I shot at an officer," he interrupted.

"You're right," she conceded, "in a case like that, it would never be questioned. We could have easily shot and killed you as soon as you fired on me. I can't answer for Officer Swarek or Officer Shaw. Me, I'm guessing my aim was a little thrown off by the bullet coming at me."

Brennan nodded thoughtfully, wondering if he would still be here had her aim not been compromised. "Fair enough." As it was though, he was definitely surprised that JD, or should he say Sam, didn't take him out;_ he found it hard to believe he wouldn't want retribution for shooting his, whatever she was to him._

"So why didn't you kill me?" Andy countered.

"What makes you think I wasn't trying to?"

"I find it hard to believe that someone with your..."

Brennan lifted a brow.

"Reputation," Andy continued tactfully, "wouldn't be a pretty good shot."

"Guns aren't generally my tool of choice," he answered easily.

Andy was shocked at his nonchalant answer; it almost felt like a confession. She tilted her head in question.

Brennan grinned again. She was giving him that look, the same one his wife did when she didn't like his answer or at the very least wanted more. "I thought about it," he admitted. "I knew I'd never make it if I killed you. And I thought maybe that might be what I wanted. But I couldn't do it. You're... too much like her. You're..." He shrugged his shoulders, "good. The world needs people like you, people that make the rest of us want to be better. Make the rest of us feel like maybe we could be better. And you didn't do anything wrong..."

He paused for a couple of seconds before letting his head fall back into the pillow. "… I did."

_Now that definitely felt like a confession._

* * *

><p>Sam was running up the stairs when his phone vibrated in his pocket. He pulled it out to see a message from Andy. <em>Discharged but Brennan wanted to talk so I'm up there; ready to go as soon as I'm done. DON'T WORRY! Jerry's here.<em>

He vaguely noted the old voice mail messages from when he was gone, but those would have to wait. He bolted out from the stairwell and ignored the scowls he was receiving from all the nurses. He probably would have gotten more leeway if he was still in his uniform, but either way he wasn't slowing down. He rounded the last corner and saw Jerry standing against a wall chatting with Andrews.

"What the hell, Jerry?"

Jerry threw out his hands and stepped forward. "Hold on, Sammy."

"I will not hold on. He tried to kill her, Jerry. Shot right at her." His next thought came out slightly breathless. "Caught the vest by barely an inch."

"I know, Sammy, I know. But he agreed to answer everything if he could only have a few minutes with McNally."

Sam's head shot up. "And you believed him?"

Before Jerry could answer, Sam pulled on the door and heard: "you didn't do anything wrong... I did."

Andy was having trouble reconciling the cold blooded enforcer with the seemingly remorseful man in front of her. She turned at the sound of the door opening.

"Glad you could join us, officer," Brennan greeted.

Sam ignored the sentiment and exchanged a nod with Andy. "What do you mean?" She wondered, hoping Sam's presence wouldn't stall the other man's candor.

Brennan shrugged again. "Ultimately, it was my fault. I hurt a lot of people; if someone messed with my life, I have no one to blame but myself. My wife and daughter didn't deserve what happened to them but I was kidding myself. It was only a matter of time because I didn't deserve them. Don't get me wrong; I hope those other two pay for what they did. But truth is this all comes back to me."

Sam completely agreed. "So why not just kill yourself then?"

Brennan's grin was there and gone. "Thought about that too," he admitted. "But I couldn't do it. That's the coward's way out and I have never been a coward in my life."

Sam shook his head in disbelief. "Come on, shooting at a cop? Pretty much the same as pulling the trigger yourself don't you think?"

"And yet I'm still here," Brennan noted. "Care to explain that one? I'm guessing **you** wouldn't have shed any tears."

"Not a one," Sam agreed easily.

"Sam," Andy chastised.

"No, it's fine," Brennan allowed. "I'm not offended. He's just being honest and I can respect that; he's a stand-up guy. Besides, if the man who shot the woman I love died at my hands, I wouldn't feel sorry either."

Andy's eyes grew wider at the implication and Sam cleared his throat; this was not a path he was ready to go down quite yet. "Seriously though, you had to think you might not make it out of there."

Brennan nodded. "I'm sure in the back of mind I had to know I was forcing your hands. But I rationalized it by telling myself that I was putting up a fight. I couldn't let you bring me in; no one had ever caught me for anything. The only way out of a tough situation was always by force and if I died in the process, so be it. This time, might even be better off," he added quietly.

Sam watched Andy and marveled at her capacity for compassion. The man before her was a cold blooded killer, had even shot at her, and yet he could see that she still felt sorry for him.

He wondered if Brennan would be as generous. "You know it's not just your wife's death you need to atone for."

Brennan nodded. "I know." He locked his gaze on Andy. "I am sorry that you got hurt in all this. I can't say I didn't mean to because we both know I pulled the trigger, but I… I… there's no excuse. I'm sorry."

Sam shook his head. "That's not what I'm talking about."

"I know, but I wanted to get that out there." He looked to Andy again. "You helped me when no one else would; that was a poor way to say thank you."

Words failed Andy so she simply nodded.

Sam didn't want her getting sucked into this any more so he decided it was time to rush things along. "Are we done here then?"

"Sam," Andy rebuked.

Brennan simply laughed again. "Yeah, I'm done; I got what I wanted." He fixed his eyes on Andy. "Did you?"

Sam's eyes widened. _What could she have wanted out of this?_

She nodded. "They will pay you know."

"I know," Brennan agreed easily. "I trust you."

Sam gripped the handles on Andy's wheelchair; this was getting way too personal for him. "We'll send Detective Barber in now."

Andy held up her hand; she couldn't help herself. "Are you really going to answer all his questions?"

"I am."

"Truthfully and completely?"

_Definitely like Maggie._ His eyes met Sam's. "Take care of her. She's one of the good ones." He dropped his focus back to Andy. "And yes, I am going to be completely honest."

"Why now?"

"Why not now?"

Andy offered him 'the look' again and he winked at her. "I'm going away anyway. Five years, twenty years, what difference does it make? My life ended the second that car crashed anyway. I know that their killer will pay and so he should, but it truly is my fault. It's the least I can do."

"I'm sure the other families will appreciate it too."

Brennan and Sam were both nodding when the two officers exited the room and sent Jerry in. Sam wheeled Andy towards the elevator and she closed her eyes as they waited for it to open.

"Your head hurt?"

"My head?" Andy asked confused.

"You blacked out at the scene? You must have hit your head. You told them to check right?"

She opened her eyes and scowled at him. "I didn't need to tell them; someone told the paramedics that I had blacked out."

Sam smiled guiltily, but Andy let him off the hook. "It's fine. No concussion. They figure it was probably a combination of falling, getting the wind knocked out of me, and the pain."

Sam nodded satisfied that she had been thoroughly checked out. "Quite the contraption you got going on there McNally."

She wrinkled her nose in disgust. "I know."

He moved around trying to get a better look at it. "What exactly is the point?"

"It keeps the collar bone in proper alignment so it heals properly. Makes sure I don't make any moves I shouldn't."

Sam winked at her. "We could have used that months ago."

Andy dropped her chin and glared at him from under her eyelashes. "Very funny. It makes sure I don't move **my arms **in any way that can cause it to heal incorrectly."

Sam scrunched up his nose this time. "Doesn't look very comfortable."

She shook her head in agreement. "It's not."

"How long do you have it for?"

"Six weeks."

"And you have to have it on **all** the time?"

Andy eyed him suspiciously; there was something in his voice. "I have to wear it as much as possible. And I'm not supposed to lift a finger."

"Guess I'll have to do all the work then," he replied wheeling her into the elevator.

Andy was thinking 'that's sweet' until she caught his reflection in the mirror at the back of the elevator. There was a glint in his eyes when she met them and he couldn't help but waggle his eyebrows.

Andy's cheeks darkened to a beautiful shade of red. "Sam."

"What?" He asked feigning innocence.

There was no one else in there with them, but she still lowered her voice to almost a whisper. "I hate to break it to you, but this is going to make it pretty tricky to…" Her blush deepened as her voice trailed off.

Sam chuckled. "I'm a pretty resourceful guy, McNally. I'm sure I can figure something out."

She couldn't keep the grin back. "I'm sure you will," she granted. In fact, she was looking forward to it.

When the doors opened, he wheeled her out and towards the exit. "Seriously, though," Sam responded. "I'll help you with whatever you need. We gotta get you back on the streets."

"Don't remind me," Andy groaned, "what am I gonna do at home for **six** weeks?"

"You can work desk can't you?"

"Ugh…six weeks of desk," she complained. "I'm not sure which is worse."

"It'll go fast," he assured her.

Andy was already shaking her head. "That's just with the brace; then I have rehab too so I can get my strength and range of motion back."

"You're in great shape McNally and it was only a hairline fracture; I bet it will be sooner," he encouraged helping her up from the chair so they could leave it at the door. "And I'll talk to Jerry; maybe he can get you working the D's. We'll figure something out."

Andy offered him a small smile. "Thanks, Sam."

"No problem."

They walked in silence until they reached the truck. "So… ready to head home then?"

"Yeah, can you drop me off at Traci's?"

Sam grimaced; he had actually meant his home. "Nash's?"

Andy immediately started to ramble. "Well, I haven't finalized my mortgage yet so all my stuff is at Traci's. And you probably want to go home and get some sleep…"

Sam furrowed his brow. "I thought we could just… we both need sleep, Andy. I was just joking before; I'm not expecting…" He took a deep breath. "I thought you would stay with me."

Andy was staring straight at the passenger door of the truck. _If it was just sleeping, she'd be fine, but..._ "I… I really need a shower and I'm not sure I can do it myself." She mumbled.

"I can help you with that," Sam teased, but he quickly realized how serious she was. "Andy."

She still wouldn't look at Sam so he squeezed himself between her and the door. He put his hand under her chin and tilted it up so he could look her in the eye. "Andy. **I **can help you with that," he repeated earnestly.

"Sam, I… are we…" Andy was torn. They'd only been together twice and they hadn't really discussed what they were or wanted to be.

"Andy."

She sighed but didn't look away. "It just feels like a lot to ask, when we haven't even…" She tilted her head briefly from side to side and her eyes rolled with it. "Well I mean we've…"

Sam placed his hands gently on her arms to still her movements and hopefully calm her fears. "Andy, let me help. Whatever this is," he motioned between the two of them, "we don't have to figure it out tonight. But I want to help you; I want to take care of you." He held up his hand to stop the argument he knew was coming. "I know you can take care of yourself, but right now you need someone."

"I know, but it's…"

"It's what?"

She huffed out a nervous breath and her eyes shifted downwards. "It's just really personal."

"Hey." He tilted her chin up again and offered her a smile. "I happen to like personal."

She dropped her chin, the disbelief written all over her face.

"Fine," he conceded. "With you, I like personal."

Andy wanted to believe him, but she was scared that she would ruin things by moving them forward too fast. "But are we there yet? Most people…"

Sam was already shaking his head. "We aren't most people, McNally. And besides, Oliver told you to let me take care of you."

He saw her lip twitch a little. "Well, I can't say no to Oliver."

"Hey," he complained pretending to be hurt.

She had to smile at the dramatics, but she still wasn't completely convinced. "Are you sure?"

He nodded. "I am."

Andy pressed her lips together into a tiny smile and with an exaggerated blink she finally agreed. "Okay."

* * *

><p>Sam swung by the station on the way to his house. He had already changed and signed in his gun, but Andy had not. She waited in the truck as he dropped hers off and grabbed her go bag from her locker. When they reached Sam's, he helped her down and grabbed both their duffels from the back seat.<p>

After unlocking the door, he dropped their bags just inside and ushered Andy to the couch. He looked around; there was a layer of dust on everything. "I'm sorry; it's not really…"

Andy had seen him looking around the room. "It's fine, Sam. It's just a little dust."

He realized he hadn't truly thought this through. "I don't really have anything to eat here, but we could order in if you're hungry."

"Food sounds great," Andy acknowledged, "but I'd just…would you mind…"

Sam walked slowly over to her. He really wanted her to be comfortable depending on him. "Andy."

She looked up at him.

"Do you want to shower first?"

She sighed out a relieved breath. "Please."

He nodded his head and took her hand to lead her down the hallway. She could see which door led to the bathroom and was angling her body towards it. Sam felt his arm being tugged in the opposite direction he was headed. "The ensuite has more room," he explained guiding her to the left.

She followed him into his bedroom and a blush covered her cheeks as she remembered the last time she had been there.

Sam was pretty sure he knew what she was thinking, but he didn't want to make her uncomfortable by dredging up the past. They would probably need to talk about it sometime, but not now. He eased her down onto the bed. At her questioning look, he knelt down in front of her and began to untie her shoes. He slid them off gently and then slipped off her socks and tucked them in the shoes. Picking them up, he placed them just outside the walk in closet next to his own.

He helped her up from the bed and placed his hand on the small of her back as he moved her towards the attached bathroom. Andy's eyes grew wide as she took in every inch of it. Sam wasn't kidding when he said it had more room. The shower was huge, as was the tub, and the entire room was simply gorgeous.

"Wow, Sam."

Andy watched with wonder as Sam busied himself with the towels. A small smile had lit his face and a slight blush tinted his cheeks. She didn't know it, but he had done it all himself and her approval meant a lot to him.

When he finally allowed his gaze to meet hers, she smiled back at him and he had to clear his throat to keep the emotions at bay. He looked down at the brace. "How do we…"

Andy explained what to do and he slowly removed the contraption from her body. She had not put her uniform shirt back on after the hospital so he helped her to ease the t-shirt over her head. He was going so painfully slow and gentle, and his eyes only left hers when the cloth of the shirt blocked his sight line. His hands skimmed over her stomach as he moved to loosen her belt and slide her pants down her legs.

Her arms rested against his shoulders as he knelt down and lifted each foot in turn to pull the pants free from her body. Andy was now standing in front of him in just her bra and panties.

Sam took a deep breath. He said he wanted to help her and he did, but this, it's not like they could even do anything or should even do anything, but her, here, in his bathroom half dressed. He was definitely feeling a little overwhelmed and more than a little aroused. He really wasn't expecting anything, but he couldn't help it, his body… wanted.

He straightened up quickly. "Uh, hang on."

He left a confused Andy in the bathroom alone while he slipped back into his bedroom and took a few deep breaths willing himself for some semblance of control. He removed his shirt and jeans and threw them into the hamper in the corner of the room. After a few more calming breaths, he felt like he could go back in.

He entered with a sheepish smile, but Andy wasn't looking at his face. Clad only in his underwear, she couldn't help but let her eyes drift downwards to take him all in. And her unabashed appraisal had his body reacting in kind.

Her eyes immediately popped up to his and they both looked a little breathless. "Maybe we can still call Traci," she offered timidly.

Sam chuckled nervously and with more conviction than he actually felt, he assured her, "We can do this McNally."

Andy could only nod as Sam reached past her to turn on the water. He held his hand under the spray and when he was satisfied, he turned back to Andy. His eyes locked on hers again as he reached behind her to unhook her bra. The garment fell to the floor and Sam's gaze fell with it. Andy was blushing again. They had been together before but having him standing there, looking at her, and the awe she saw in his eyes; it was just… a lot.

And she wasn't the only one feeling the heat. It took every bit of Sam's willpower not to run his hands all over her body. When he looked back up at her, his eyes were dark and she knew what he wanted, because she was certain it was in her eyes too. Her voice was only a whisper. "You can touch me, Sam."

"Andy." It came out as more of a moan. _Didn't she realize it was hard enough; anything more was just going to make it harder_. He chuckled at the double meaning in his own thoughts. It was a losing battle and he was ready to surrender.

Sam leaned in and brushed his lips briefly against hers. His hands skimmed over her breasts and he caught her gasp in his mouth. This time there was nothing brief about it; it was long and slow and sensuous and it only ended when Sam's lungs begged him for air.

He broke away panting and she was meeting him breath for breath. He ran his hands along her sides and down, sliding her underwear off before tugging off his own. And then there was nothing left to mask his obvious desire.

Andy moved forward to kiss him again. She wasn't supposed to lift her elbows outward especially without the brace on so she couldn't put her arms around him. Instead she leaned in and let her body rest completely against his. They made out leisurely, neither one rushing it but both thoroughly consumed by it until Sam slowly withdrew his lips from hers; he knew they were teetering on the point of no return. His mouth skimmed across her jaw and paused just below her ear. "Water's gonna get cold," he whispered and took a step back.

The pout on Andy's lips put a smile on his and Sam couldn't resist kissing her one more time. He forced himself to keep it chaste though. "But that's probably a good thing," he murmured backing her towards the shower.

Andy was still pouting when she reached the edge. "What happened to that resourceful guy you were talking about earlier?"

He kissed her again and gave her the full dimple treatment. "He's waterproofing the brace tomorrow."

Andy's laughter echoed throughout the room and Sam thought it might be the most beautiful thing he had ever been witness to. But then she tossed her head back and he saw her wince from the pain. The smile immediately dropped from his face. "Are you okay?"

"It's fine, Sam," she assured him. "I, I just forgot that…" she gazed lovingly into his eyes. "You make me forget… everything."

He leaned in and brushed her nose with his before gently pecking it. "And that is why no resourcefulness until at least tomorrow."

"At least?" Andy squeaked out. She was pretty sure it would be worth any amount of pain.

"I don't want to hurt you," he replied sincerely, and then quickly cleared his throat. "Now, come on, McNally let's get you cleaned up; I'm hungry."

* * *

><p>Sam had wrapped Andy's hair up and was now toweling her dry. She watched him in awe. He had been so gentle with her in the shower. After the initial… she didn't even know what to call it. In any other circumstance it would have been foreplay, but when they stepped in the shower he had kept his movements innocent, washing her hair, washing her body and now drying her off; he was simply trying to care for her. But having his hands all over her and the tenderness he was putting into it just made her want him even more. And if that wasn't torture enough she'd had to watch him shower himself. The color flooded her cheeks as the memories flooded her mind.<p>

Sam chuckled lightly. He knew exactly what was going through her mind because it was racing through his too.

"It's not funny, Sam."

He laughed louder. "I know, but if I don't laugh I think I might cry."

Andy moaned, "Yes, but if I laugh, I will cry."

Sam shook his head as he moved to stand. "We make quite a pair, McNally."

The agreement was clear in her eyes. _Yes we do. _"Help me get dressed?" She requested shyly.

He huffed out a quick breath before taking her hand and muttering under his breath. "You really do want to see a grown man cry don't you?"

* * *

><p>After getting Andy dressed and filling her full of Chinese Food, Sam helped her into bed. She wasn't sure how well she was going to sleep with the brace on but knew it was for the best; it had been a long day and her body could use the rest. She settled in but when Sam didn't join her, she had to ask. "Aren't you coming to bed?"<p>

It **had** been a long day and he **was** tired but he didn't want to wake up to a mess in the kitchen. "I'm just going to put the food away and straighten up a little; I'll be right back. You know, we probably should have stopped for milk and eggs on the way home," he added as an afterthought.

"It's fine Sam. We'll figure it out in the morning."

"Night, Andy."

* * *

><p>It only took Sam a few minutes to put everything away before he was headed back to the bedroom. He picked up his phone to plug it in when it vibrated in his hand. It was a text from Traci asking how Andy was holding up. He smiled. Jerry must have told her that he picked Andy up from the hospital and she put two and two together when Andy didn't show up at her place. He fired a quick message back assuring her all was good and then decided to check his messages. There weren't that many and most of them were likely old so he figured he would just take a quick listen and then delete, but he didn't get past the first one. It was from the night he left and it caught his full attention the second he heard her speak.<p>

The smirk on his face grew the more Andy went on about screwing her plan, and not saving the good candy, and drinking champagne, and making time count. But his eyes clouded a little when she said she was coming over. He couldn't help but wonder how different everything could have turned out. _Would he have been able to leave? He would have had to. Would they have still met up at the Alpine? Would he..._

"Sam?" her soft voice carried down the hall and he found himself immediately drawn towards her.

He pressed the door open and saw her wide eyes staring right back at him. "You're supposed to be sleeping," he chided before moving to his side of the bed and connecting his phone to the charger.

"I can't stop thinking," she confessed and then rolled over clumsily so she could face him. "I'm glad you're okay."

Sam sat down on the edge of the bed and pulled off his jeans and t-shirt. He had to swallow the lump in his throat before he could respond. "You're the one that got shot."

"I know," she conceded her eyes completely fixed on him as he lifted the covers and slid under. She waited for him to turn towards her. "But… if we hadn't shown up at the Alpine… and if you had told Brennan about the boat...

"Andy." He rolled up onto his elbow and placed a hand gently on her cheek. "We're both fine. Stop over thinking it."

"I'm just…" Her eyes implored him. He could see what she wanted, no needed, and he closed the distance between them. When his lips met hers, she immediately deepened the kiss.

"Andy," Sam warned as he pulled away, "we can't."

She glanced at the clock behind him. "But it's already tomorrow."

He was completely torn, his need for her well being warring with his need for just her. He closed his eyes. "I don't want to hurt you."

"But these painkillers work wonders," she justified.

Sam chuckled lightly. "Yeah, pretty sure you're talking about a felony there."

Andy nudged his chest and waited for him to look at her again. "That's not what I meant and you know it. I know exactly what I'm saying and exactly what I'm asking. Seriously, it hardly hurts at all anymore."

He didn't want to take the chance though so he tried to compromise. "Let's see how you feel later tonight okay. We can have supper, maybe watch a movie, have some…"

Andy fluttered her eyelashes at him. "Why Officer Swarek, that almost sounds like a plan."

Sam tucked his tongue in his cheek and tried to hold back the grin. _She was such a tease. _"I told you before; plans don't work for me."

"What would **you** call it then?" She posed in challenge.

Sam's dimples flickered once before he tried to take on a more serious tone. "Just hanging out, maybe some candy." He gave Andy a quick wink. "The good stuff of course, maybe a little champagne…"

If the dimples now raging in his cheeks weren't a dead giveaway, the twinkle in his eye certainly would be. And she knew exactly what he was taunting her about; he had listened to her ill-fated message from the first night of his undercover.

She wasn't giving up without a fight though. "What about the next night?"

And he fell right into it. "Well, if you're up to it, we could go to the Penny…"

Andy tilted her head and quirked an eyebrow. _Gotcha!_

His words caught in his throat. _She was right. He __**was**__ making plans._

She watched the realization hit him, and worried a little about pushing too far too fast. She really didn't need plans as long as she had him. She nudged him from his thoughts and waited for his focus to come back to the room. "I see a pretty good **opportunity** here," she announced confidently.

His eyes shifted to hers and she met them without reservation. "I think we should take it."

Sam chuckled lightly and shook his head. "And how are we gonna do that?"

Andy grinned uncertainly; _she wasn't sure if they were just talking about tonight or..._

She shrugged her shoulders as best she could and tilted her head to the side; her answer was the same either way. "I don't know. I have no idea."

A small smile played at his lips. _Neither did he, but they sure as hell would have fun figuring it out._

* * *

><p>A.N. I thought about the times I've been in the hospital in Canada, and it's never been a requirement that I be escorted out in a wheelchair, but I couldn't resist the idea of her being dependent on others to get her around.<p>

Also, SairsJ had asked me about the brace Andy was wearing; if you Google 'figure 8 brace' you can see what I had in mind.


End file.
